Emma Potter and The Boy Who Lived
by NoxWolf804
Summary: Emma Potter was the lesser known child of James and Lily Potter. Her scar was not uniquely shaped, and Voldemort did not disappear after he cursed her. So when Emma receives her acceptance letter, she is eager to meet the famous Harry. At Hogwarts, Emma realizes she has not just a deep connection to the boy who lived, but an ominous presence that seems to lurk within the school...
1. The Surprise at Godric's Hollow

**Author's Note: Hello all! This is my first story in probably 5 years. I'd like to think this Harry Potter fanfiction of mine will go better than the first (I was such an amateur back when I was 11). Of course, J.K. Rowling gets full credit for every Harry Potter character in this story (minus my own OCs) and for the format of the Hogwarts acceptance letter. I really hope you all would enjoy to revisit the magic of Hogwarts in this year 1 Story! Happy reading! -NoxWolf :)**

The house was eerily quiet. Not a creature stirred or dared to breathe within the halls. A giant man with a bushy beard brought a handkerchief to his eyes as he spotted a limp body on the living room floor- _James._ His body was draped across the rug, shielding what appeared to be a small bundle. The giant's heart sunk as he saw no movement from the little child. Wordlessly, he crept up the staircase into what could only be the nursery.

The nursery consisted of two cribs-only one of which was occupied-and little children toys. As he took in the damage, Lily Potter's lifeless form was sprawled in front of the occupied crib. The giant, Hagrid, did his best to hold back the sobs that were already beginning in his throat. He looked down at the child whose named was already famous among wizards across the country. Blinking back tears, Hagrid gently wrapped the little boy in the blue blanket that was in his bed. The little boy's brilliant green eyes stared up at Hagrid with gentle curiosity. A lightning-bolt scar graced the space above his right eyebrow.

"It's a surprise to see you here, Hagrid." The giant jumped and spun around. Standing in the doorway was a tall, handsome young man with shoulder-length black hair and blazing blue eyes.

"Sirius, did yeh see? 's awful!" Hagrid wailed, finally breaking down. His shoulders shook as tears trickled from his eyes and disappeared into his shaggy black beard.

"I came here as soon as I could." Sirius murmured mournfully, his eyes now resting on the crib with the boy. "In one night the child lost his family."

"D'yeh think he was quick with the girl's death?" Hagrid nodded not to the body of Lily Evans, but towards the staircase where downstairs father and daughter lied inches apart.

"He didn't care about James or Lily or Emma. He only cared for Harry." Sirius's voice held a sad tone.

Sirius suddenly strode across the room and stood over Harry. "I should take him."

"What?"

"Harry should come live with me. They named me his godfather, after all. And since his father is dead, well, I made a promise." There was no doubt that the young man was devastated. He reached into the crib and carefully picked up the boy.

"I-Sirius, yeh can't do that. Dumbledore sen' me on orders…" Hagrid's voice trailed off as he stuffed his handkerchief back into his coat pocket.

"What does Dumbledore plan on doing with him? He's my godson, Hagrid, it's my responsibility." Sirius cradled Harry in a protective manner as he bore his gaze onto the giant man.

"He plans on sendin' him to his Aunt Petunia's. Says it's important he goes." Sirius now looked into Harry's eyes. _He has his mother's eyes._

"If Dumbledore said…oh, alright. But take my motorcycle, it's fast." Sirius reluctantly handed Harry over to Hagrid. He squeezed the child's hand and bit his lip, not wanting to cry in front of Hagrid. With a quick motion, he handed the keys over to Hagrid. "Take good care of him."

"E'll be safe, not ter worry." Hagrid carefully accepted the keys. "Yeh're a good friend Sirius. James would 'ave wanted you ter have Harry." He added as a comforting message. Sirius only managed to give a broken smile.

When Hagrid had safely placed Harry on the motorcycle and flew off into the night, Sirius made his way downstairs. The Ministry of Magic would be after him soon. He did not stop to look at his best friend's dead body, or his best friend's daughter's dead body. Sirius only stopped once, hand lingering on the door, when he thought he heard a faint moan. But when he didn't hear it again, he shook his head and was off.

By the time Remus Lupin arrived at Godric's Hollow, the house was empty. The thin man bowed his head in grievance, until something caught his attention. A soft little cry. He strained his ears, eyes darting around the room. James laid there motionless, but barely four inches next to him a little arm moved. Shocked, Remus scrambled over to where the little bundle was moving. With great care the man picked up the girl. _Emma._ Her dark gray eyes were full of child fear as she looked up into Remus's face. The man in return stared at his goddaughter, tears of relief now mingling with sorrow. _So it wasn't just the boy who lived._


	2. The Magic of Letters

**Author's Note: Hey guys, hope you're having a good day! I actually wrote this chapter before "The Surprise at Godric's Hollow", so this is the chapter that really started me on things. I hope you enjoy reading and I look forward to writing more! Bear with me as I know the first few chapter can be boring, but we'll be with these characters for hopefully 7 stories so I like to give some background and an introduction. Thanks for reading! -Nox :D**

The weeks before July 31st were an exhilarating time for the people who resided in a small cottage on 24 Lancaster Road. Every day when the mail carrier would arrive, he would spot the little girl sitting on the very top stoop, her feet swinging mindlessly as she waited. He always believed she was waiting for him to bring her a package, but her head was always tilted back, staring at the sky.

"Expecting it to come today?"

"Yeah." She would respond, and she would wait for a few moments. When it appeared as though nothing was coming, the little girl's smile would falter and she'd slink her way back into the cottage. The mail carrier never realized she was waiting on a very special letter to be delivered not by man but by an owl.

The cottage of 24 Lancaster Road was not spectacular. It looked small from the outside, with thick plants and vines growing around it, suffocating the exposed bricks. The inside was not much better. The kitchen, living room, and dining room were all located within three steps from one another, and a half-bathroom was jammed in the hallway which led to the staircase. The upstairs only consisted of a modest bathroom and two bedrooms. The smaller of the two bedrooms just comfortably fit a twin bed and a small nightstand. And although the room was not large, the character of it certainly was. A white-and silver striped comforter hung over the bed, with a teal throw pillow and various stuffed animals tossed on it: a buck, a deer, a big black dog….but the person who lived in the room loved the wolf plush the most. A fleece blanket was draped at the bottom, which had the design of the moon and stars. Perhaps the most interesting objects of all were the posters hanging up. Various men and women on broomsticks sped across their posters and would occasionally disappear from sight. To any stranger that entered the room, it would be a nasty surprise; that is, if the stranger was a muggle.

The Lupin household was not an ordinary household. It consisted of only two persons, who were not even related to one another. The eldest, Remus Lupin, did not associate himself much with the neighbors, who lived miles apart from him. He would go out bright and early, sometimes with a little girl trailing behind him, and would not return until the dark night. Lupin was a very pale man, with an anemic look about him. He was slender and thin, with light brown hair that already seemed to be graying, despite his young age. He always appeared to be in pain, lips tight and eyebrows furrowed as if in deep thought. Remus always had a ill look about him, and he had lines on his face that could only be caused by an extraordinary amount of stress.

The girl was much different, and at the same time not. She was on the shorter side for a girl of ten, with a skinny build and long legs. Her hair was brown, and although having a straight texture, always appeared to be unruly and would stick up at the back. Although pretty, the girl did not have any unique or strange facial markings. The most notable thing about this girl, however, were her eyes. Almond-shaped and long-lashed, Emma Potter's eyes were a brilliant bright gray. These eyes reflected the colors surrounding her and had a habit to betray her feelings to the world. The girl also a peculiar scar on her right wrist, almost in the shape of an "s." Emma Potter was never sure exactly how she got the scar, but she was certainly made aware of the story behind it.

Emma Potter did not remember much of her parents. She remembered even less of her twin brother, Harry. She was, although known, the lesser known child of the Potters. She had lived with her godfather, Remus Lupin, for most of her life. Emma would hound Remus to tell her the details about that fateful night in October of 1981, but the man would be brief. "Your parents were murdered by You-Know-Who, protecting you and Harry."

"But why did You-Know-Who want to kill them?" Remus, although not afraid to say "Voldemort," felt the need to keep the name from reaching the girl's ears.

"I don't know." And with that he would usher her off while he returned to whatever book on the phases of the moon he was reading. This left Emma to pick up the details of her parents' death from gossip. She'd strain her ears at Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, and more often than not found wizards eager to speak to the daughter of James and Lily Potter. "Oi, I heard your brother led to You-Know-Who's disappearance!" Wizards would whisper in her ear while clapping her on the back. It seemed whenever anyone spoke to her it was, while brief surprise that Voldemort spared her life, always about Harry. She didn't mind not having the attention revolve around her. "I haven't seen Harry." She'd respond when others would ask how he was. _I don't know him_. Whenever Emma tried to remember that night, she could only remember two men's voices and a vibrant flash. Her thumb would always unconsciously run across her scar whenever she thought of it.

But July 19th was a special day for Emma Potter. She had been playing in the back of the cottage, absentmindedly throwing a "rugby ball" up into the air. Remus had seen it on the way back from Diagon Alley once, and thought it so similar to a quaffle he bought it and brought it home to Emma. She was just getting ready to go back in when she spotted what she had waited ten years for. A tawny owl swooped its way towards the ground and pulled itself up, dropping a large envelope in front of Emma. She pulled out whatever knuts she had in her pocket and put it in the owl's pouch. It flew off. Her eyes widened as she picked up the envelope. Her finger ran across the green pen which read her name and her address. Checking the mailing address a dozen times, she finally raced back into the house. "Remus!" She called up the stairs; he was always sleeping. When he didn't come downstairs immediately, she scrambled up the staircase and dashed into his room. "Remus!"

"What?" The older man groggily responded, forcing himself to sit up. His eyes trailed from Emma's eyes to what she was holding in her hands. Immediately his green eyes lightened and he leapt up from the bed.

"So it came!" Emma beamed at Remus. For ten years he had been the closest thing to a father, the closest thing to family.

"I was getting nervous." She admitted as she now delicately began to tear open the letter.

"The daughter of James and Lily not being accepted into Hogwarts? Your name was on that list the moment you were born."

She carefully read the first page.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

 **Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

 **(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**

 **Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

Dear Ms Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

 ** _Minerva McGonagall_**

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Emma's face hurt from grinning so much. "What do you need for supplies?" Remus nodded his head at the second page. Emma quickly folded it open.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes(black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

 _The Standard Book of Spells_ (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

 _A History of Magic_

by Bathilda Bagshot

 _Magical Theory_

by Adalbert Waffling

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

by Emeric Switch

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_

by Arsenius Jigger

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

by Quentin Trible

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

 _Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

Emma passed the second page over to Remus, whose brows furrowed as he went over the supplies list.

"It seems like they're always adding more equipment for you first-years to buy. Shame you can't bring a broom though, you've gotten quite well at flying." Emma had been flying the moment she could sit on the toddler's broomsticks. It was true that she was her father's daughter; when Remus believed it was safe for her to fly, Emma would swoop and dive around the fields behind their house, feeling the cool air whip by and redden her face.

"How do we respond back to them?" Emma asked, finally managing to drag her eyes off the two sheets.

"We send them an owl. I'll do it for you." Remus was tapping his fingers as he estimated the price of all the books.

"I suppose this means we'll have to make a trip to Diagon Alley sometime in August." His green eyes crinkled warmly at Emma. "Already going to be 11, then off to Hogwarts. And then off into the world." His voice carried a hint of sadness.

"I'm only starting my first year! Besides I'll be back for summer!" The right corner of her lip drew up into a sloppy grin. Lupin chuckled as he smiled back.

"You know, I always thought you looked like Lily. But now I'm starting to see James."


	3. The Diggory Pick-Up

**Author's Note: Hello again! This is Chapter 3, and in this chapter it elaborates on who Emma spends most of her days with when Lupin is working. I was really excited to bring in some of Rowling's Quidditch students! I hope you enjoy this! -Nox :)**

Emma sat on the couch as she watched Remus rummage around for his work papers. His secretary shift normally started at 7AM down at some muggle business firm, but Remus was always half an hour late. "You should get ready the night before." Emma would try telling him, but Lupin would just ruffle her hair absentmindedly and go back to searching for his briefcase.

When Remus finally found what he needed, would take the tube to get to his work, and it was then that Emma would trail behind him, dragging her feet.

"Amos will meet you where he normally does."

Emma made a "mhm" sound as she kicked stones on the cobble road.

"I'm sure you'll be on your best behavior? I mean, I guess you always are. Amos has only said good things about you."

"I like the Diggory's." Emma replied, now skipping to keep up with the long strides Remus took. She never understood why the tube was so far and why they had to walk.

"He was telling me how he might take you to where his son practices for Quidditch."

Now Emma's ears perked up. Cedric Diggory was fourteen years old and going into his 4th year at Hogwarts. He served as seeker for the Hufflepuff house. It was no surprise the girl had a crush on him. Whenever he was mentioned her cheeks would turn red, and whenever Cedric talked to her she would begin to stutter. Emma was always shy around others, but when it came to Cedric it was as though someone placed a curse on her tongue. If Cedric noticed her little crush, he was courteous enough to not to mention it.

When they finally arrived at the train station, Remus bought two tickets (he would always grumble about how confusing muggle money was) and handed one to Emma. Although he could apparate, he'd rather make sure Emma got to her destination safely.

"I figured we'd go to Diagon Alley maybe next Friday. If it's early enough there'll be less people and the books will be in better condition. And besides, I could buy you a birthday present there."

"You don't need to get me anything." Emma always figured Remus taking her in was the best gift of all.

"If you didn't get me birthday presents I'd be quite cross with you." Remus joked, holding his briefcase loosely on his lap. "No, I'll get you something good at Diagon Alley." They kept their voices low, but no one was bothering to listen to their conversation anyway. "It's been so long since I've been to Platform 9 and 3/4. Probably 14 years, when I was going into my 7th year."

The mention of Hogwarts reminded her to ask. "Do you reckon I'll be sorted into Gryffindor like you and my parents?" Emma didn't mind which house she was sorted into, as long as it wasn't Slytherin. She knew the Ravenclaws to be highly intelligent and the Hufflepuffs to be loyal and strong.

"You'll be sorted based on your heart's desire." Remus never told her how sorting worked. "I want it to be as big of a surprise as it was for me." He'd say cheerfully whenever Emma asked. Emma was nervous that it'd be some type of written quiz. She was never that good under pressure. _Maybe Ravenclaw's not it for me then._

Remus was still talking. "Our first stop will have to be Gringott's, got to take some money out. And then I suppose we should get to Ollivander's before it gets too busy. Of course, Flourish and Blotts is a hot-spot for first years, and then of course we need to get your robes, and there will no doubt be a wait there." At this point Remus was talking to himself as he made a mental checklist for their adventure next Friday.

The train stopped and Emma looked at the name. Emma always got off at the same stop, would wave at Remus as he called her a goodbye, and would then walk to the same directory as she would wait to spot Amos Diggory. So it came as a shock to her when she did not spot the older man, but rather his son Cedric Diggory and a few of his friends. When Cedric spotted her, he waved and grinned.

"Hey Emma. How was the ride?" He asked in a cheerful tone, giving her a welcoming hug. Emma felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she quickly avoided eye contact with the three other boys. She didn't think they were paying attention to her though. They were more interested in the train station itself. "Muggles." She heard one mutter in awe.

"The same as the train ride always is. Where's-?"

"My dad? He had some business down at the Ministry of Magic." His voice dropped. "Heard it was important. Anyway, he figured it'd be easier to just have me come and get you instead of telling Remus he'd be late. Oh, I haven't introduced anyone, yeah?" He had noticed that Emma's eyes had now trailed off of him to look at his three companions.

"This is Oliver Wood, he's the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." He nodded his at the stocky brown-haired boy. "That one who's poking that map, that's Roger Davis. He's a chaser for Ravenclaw. And the last one-you might remember him- Herbert Fleet? He's our keeper." Each one shook Emma's hand.

"And this is Emma Potter, a future member to one of our House's." Cedric winked. It was at the mention of her last name that the others seemed to now recognize her. They were, however, friendly enough to not bring up Harry or Voldemort. "They wanted to come with me not just to check out the muggle world and keep me company, but of course to see the one and only Emma Potter."

"Oi, your father was a great chaser for Gryffindor." Oliver commented, now sizing her up. "Got the build of a seeker, but I could see chaser as well." He nodded approvingly as he said this.

"Ravenclaw's the better House to be apart of though. Great minds and a great team. Surely you'll be sorted there." The dark-haired Roger slyly responded, tapping his index to his head.

"Well, it's all fun to talk, but we better get back to my house, yeah? And besides," Cedric shot them a smirk, "Hufflepuff is the best house of all."

In order to get to the Diggory's house, the five needed to use a portkey. They walked a few streets down from the train station and turned into a deserted parking lot. No one was around.

"Right, it was simple enough to get here with the other one." Cedric said. Amos had always apparated to the station and then brought Emma back with a portkey.

This time, the portkey was a glasses case. The five of them placed one hand on the portkey. Within seconds the world around them began to disappear and Emma felt constrained as the surroundings blurred and flipped. The first time she had used a portkey she had gotten sick, but since then had gotten used to it.

The world gradually began to stop spinning and she landed with a soft _thud_ on the grass. Blinking, she easily recognized the back of the Diggory's house. She heard the boys groan behind her as they stood up, dusting off their clothes. "Never'll get used to that." She heard Herbert grumble.

The Diggory's lived in a predominantly non-muggle town. The houses, spread far apart, each had at least one wizard living in them. The house was quite large too, with nice, big windows and a well-groomed garden in the backyard. The inside was even nicer than the outside.

As they made their way into the house, Cedric greeted Mrs. Diggory. "Off to play Quidditch now?" She asked, looking up from what she was reading. When she saw Emma she smiled. "Lovely to see you, dear. I take it you're well?" Emma nodded. "Your first year attending Hogwarts. I remember how excited Cedric was."

"We're going to go down to the field now. Emma, I don't suppose-? No, you didn't know to bring a broom. I have an extra. Do you want goggles? No? Well I guess I really am the only one who wears them." Cedric laughed.

The four boys disappeared up the staircase to retrieve their Quidditch equipment from Cedric's room. When they came back down, Cedric handed over a spare Nimbus 1700. "Good broom, Emma. Handles nicely." Cedric said as she studied it her hands.

"Right then," Oliver spoke up, "I'm sure the others are playing. Ready for your first match, Potter?"


	4. Quidditch Scrimmage

**Author's Note: I hope you're all having a great Sunday! This is the last "background" chapter before we journey to Diagon Alley and then later to Hogwarts. This will always probably be the last of these short-ish chapters, I'm hoping. As this chapter relates to Quidditch, of course I had to add Oliver Wood! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy! -Nox :)**

The Quidditch field was not far from Cedric's home. Following a winding path towards a secluded forest, Emma knew immediately it was a safe place for wizards to fly.

"Oi! Thought you'd never show up, Diggory!" A rather lanky boy was waving when they arrived.

"Train was late!" Cedric shouted back as the five now jogged to reach the group. Emma began to count those who were already there.

"Oliver?" She asked the boy closest to her. Wood nodded his head to show he was listening.

"Quidditch teams each have 7 players, yeah?"

Wood gave her a gruff "yes" as he sized up the competition.

"There are only 12 of us though?"

"Can't have seekers when we play here, Potter. The snitch is very fast and very, er, _peculiar_. If it got away from us and a Muggle saw…" He shuddered. "That goes for the bludgers too. Imagine the look on one of those Muggles faces if a huge ball started chasing after him." Emma suppressed a giggle.

"Right," Cedric took control of her attention, "We'll need to split up into teams of six."

Emma was put on a team with Wood, Davis, and three other people she didn't know. Everyone was older than she was, and there was no denying that she was also the smallest. "Gather round team," Oliver boomed. The girl next to her rolled her eyes.

"Ever since he's been made captain he can't seem to get enough of the power," she murmured to Emma.

"Alright, Angelina, Roger, and Emma, you'll play as our chasers. I, of course, will be keeper." He then took the time to sort out the two guys that were left. "Payne, Miller, I trust you two know how Beaters work without bludgers?" The two boys nodded. "Good, good. Ready, Diggory?"

Cedric had Herbet Fleet and other boys she didn't know on his team. "Of course, Oliver. Always ready to show you how to play," he winked.

"Alright, so these are the rules. Get the quaffle," he held up a ball similar to the one Remus bought her, "between those two trees if you're on my team." He pointed at thick oak trees on the right side of the field. "And if you're on Oliver's, those ones." He now pointed towards the opposite side of the field.

"Mount your brooms."

Emma stretched one hand out over the borrowed broom and said, "Up!" Within an instant the broom was hovering next to her. She threw one leg over and placed her hands on the stick.

"Let's go!"

Cedric's team had control of the "quaffle" first. It was realized in a moment that Oliver Wood played to win.

"No no NO, DAVIS, PASS IT TO JOHNSON!" Roger made a nasty reply back right before one of Diggory's beaters barreled into him. Cedric flew underneath Davis and easily caught the quaffle.

Emma scrambled after Cedric, the air whistling in her ears. He was nearing towards Wood, who wore a scowl as he had his hands prepared for a save. Twenty feet away…..ten feet…..Cedric raised his hand, aiming the quaffle.

Emma zoomed in front of Wood and caught the quaffle. She was not the only one surprised; Cedric was staring at her dumbfounded while Wood shouted gleefully behind her. "Fly, Potter, fly!"

Emma whizzed back towards the direction of where Fleet was standing post. One of the beaters was making a beeline for her, but she quickly flung the quaffle over to Angelina. Angelina sped past Diggory and his chasers, Emma trailing parallel to her. Right before Angelina went to shoot, she passed the quaffle to Emma.

Fleet had no time to react to the sudden switch. Emma had thrown the ball with as much force as she could to Fleet's blind spot, and she could hear Wood's shouts from here. "Ten to zero, Diggory!" Cedric shook his head, a small smile dancing on his lips.

Wood and his team won 150 points to 120 points. By the time all of them were back on the ground, each was as sweaty and tired as the next. The teams lined up, shaking hands with the other players.

"Need to watch out for you next year, aye Potter?" Herbert panted as they shook hands. Emma blushed and mumbled out an embarrassed "thanks."

"Not bad, especially for your first time playing a scrimmage," Cedric affectionately shook her shoulder.

It was only Wood and Emma who accompanied Cedric back to his house. The entire way there, Oliver was ranting about Quidditch.

"Excellent playing, excellent playing. Great start for next year no doubt. And the handling of the broom- _superb._ But real Quidditch is different, yeah? You'll be bombard with bludgers and no doubt it'll be harder to get the quaffle into the other's team zones. So my advice, for you Potter, is to really practice your agility and swerving motions, because while the Weasley twins are good beaters, most other teams got good ones as well…" By the second half of his speech, Emma had tuned Oliver out completely. Her main focus now was the food to be waiting for them at Cedric's house.

They arrived back at the Diggorys at roughly six in the evening. The sky had darkened since they left, and as soon as they walked in Mrs. Diggory called for "shoes off!"

Emma struggled as she slid off her sneakers, which were now caked in mud. The smells wafting from the kitchen made her mouth water, and Oliver's stomach growled.

"Your father had to stay overtime, I'm afraid he won't be back till later…" Mrs. Diggory said to Cedric as the plates carried themselves from the cabinet to the table.

Dinner was delicious. Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and carrots graced the table and Emma took as much as she could without looking like a pig. She noticed Oliver and Cedric piling food so high on their own plates that is was almost like a mountain.

"When do you and Remus plan on heading to Diagon Alley?" Mrs. Diggory asked from where her own plate was neatly divided into sections. Emma took a sip of her pumpkin juice before responding.

"Next Saturday."

"You two are going early," Oliver said between bites of food. Cedric nodded in agreement, scarfing down another piece of steak.

"Of course they are," Mrs. Diggory responded patiently, "First-years always go the earliest. It seems the older you get, the less you care about supply shopping." She shook her head.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Diggory. Thank you for dinner, it was lovely." Emma stood in the door frame as Remus shook hands with Mrs. Diggory. Cedric and Oliver stood behind her, waving at Emma.

"See you September 1st, Potter." Wood called over Mrs. Diggory's shoulder. Emma nodded.

"I'll probably see you sooner than that," Cedric joked as the two then disappeared up the stairs.

"…once again, thanks much for watching her. I know you and Amos are always busy, especially with your own son, but I really do appreciate what you do for me…."

"Nonsense Remus, it's our pleasure! She costs us no trouble at all, always so polite and nice!" Mrs. Diggory beamed at Emma. Emma gave her a sheepish smile back.

"It's weird to think that after September 1st, she won't be around." Remus's voice had returned to the sad tone it had carried in the morning.

"I cried for a week when Cedric went. It's hard when there's only one child….one child you're taking care of, that is." She quickly added the last part as she remembered that Emma was not an only child.

"I just hope her Hogwarts experience is as good as mine was." At this point, the two adults began speaking as if Emma was not there at all. She didn't mind this though.

"….anyway, it is getting late and we should go. Thank you once again….." At last the two turned around, Remus taking Emma's hand in his. They waved a final goodbye to where Mrs. Diggory was now shutting the door, and turned down the dark street.

"Right, off we are now. But did I make the portkey the baseball hat or the bookmark?" It was a good 2 hours before Emma finally crawled into bed.


	5. Diagon Alley

**Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter because I got to bring in some of my favorite characters (Hermione, Neville, the Weasleys). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! -Nox :D**

"Remus, wake up! Remus? Remus!" Emma shook the sleeping man excitedly. The day had finally arrived.  
"Huh? What time is it?" The brown-haired man replied groggily, squinting as the sun shone through the room.  
"6:30." Emma responded, now eagerly waiting at the foot of his bed. Thoughts were racing through her head-Which wand core would she get? How would her robes look? Would she meet any other first-years?  
"You really made sure that we'd go bright and early, didn't you? Well alright, I just need to get ready. Have you-? Oh, I see you've already showered, and eaten…what did I tell you about bringing food upstairs?" But Emma wasn't paying attention. She had wolfed down the remaining bites of her cereal and now dashed down the hallway and down the stairs into the kitchen. A creaking noise came from upstairs, signaling Remus had gotten up out of bed. She began to play with the hem of her shirt until the stairs groaned and Remus landed on the last step. Emma jumped to her feet, excitement glimmering in her eyes. Remus sighed, smiling softly.  
"I was going to eat now, but I suppose I can just pick something up in Diagon Alley."

Emma hated taking the Muggle train to get to Diagon Alley. She stood next to Lupin in the crowded compartment, her face drawn up into a scowl. "I don't understand how they do this everyday." She muttered to Remus.  
"People have a funny way of getting by in this world." Remus murmured, surveying the people around them. The man sitting directly behind them coughed. "Would you rather us have taken Floo Powder?"  
Emma immediately shook her head no. Floo Powder was, by far, the worst method of transportation. Whenever they used it she always had the smell of soot lingering on her for days, an upset stomach, and almost always forgot which grate to get off at. _The one thing Muggles aren't missing out on is THAT.  
_ The train ride was uneventful, the majority of the folk in their compartment grumbling about working on the weekend. She felt sympathy for them. Remus was lucky enough to be off on Saturday and Sunday. She glanced up at Remus, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. _He wouldn't need to take the train if it wasn't for me._

They finally arrived at their stop, and with a great rush dashed up the staircases and out into the fresh air. London was particularly busy on that Saturday, but the street Remus and Emma headed down was rather empty. With the exception of a few rushing Muggles ("Late on the first day!" a teenage boy wailed), nobody bothered to stop and look at the old, run down bar on Charing Cross Road. The two stopped directly underneath a worn-down sign that read "The Leaky Cauldron." Remus held the door open for Emma as she walked in.  
"Mornin', Remus." The man behind the bar called. He was old and balding for the most part.  
"Hello Tom. Business good?" He surveyed the room. For the most part, the inn was empty. There were, however, a few witches chattering away in one corner and a brooding warlock sulking at the bar.  
"Business as usual, I suppose you can say. Off to Diagon?"  
"In fact we are." He now pushed Emma in front of him. She gave a weak smile and wave to Tom, who was now surveying her. "Emma's first year is approaching. We need to get her everything before all the good items run out." Remus had the letter with everything needed in his inner jacket pocket. Tom gave her a toothless grin.  
"Excited, aren't ya? I remember my own time getting ready to go off, seems like ages ago now…" Tom trailed off, his eyes growing misty before he suddenly snapped his attention on her. "Blimey, I nearly forgot, your the Potter girl! Must say, you look like your mum. But James is there too." Emma nodded her head, not quite sure what to say. "Haven't seen your brother around, have you? I wanna thank him. Ever since he defeated You-Know-Who, I've rested easier at night."  
"I haven't seen him yet, no." Emma responded curtly. It wasn't that she minded when people asked her about Harry; it was just that people only _ever_ asked her about Harry.  
The bell rang again and a girl with bushy brown hair entered. Two rather nervous looking people followed after her.  
"The letter says to come here and then go into the courtyard…I _do_ hope I read it correctly." The girl had a know-it-all tone that immediately turned Emma off from her.  
"Diagon Alley?" Lupin asked, looking at what had to have been the girl's parents. They nodded in embarrassment.  
"We're going there too, first year." Remus added proudly, patting Emma on the back. She tried to make eye contact with the girl, but she had already walked out into the courtyard. The rest of them followed.  
When they walked out, Remus made a beeline to the trash can. The girl with the bushy brown hair was already standing there. Remus took out his wand and began counting bricks.  
"Right, three up, two to the right," Remus murmured to himself as he reached the brick of desire. He tapped it once, and immediately the wall began to open up. The girl with bushy brown hair and her parents stood there, agape.  
A pathway opened up in front of them, and Remus entered first. Emma trailed after him, followed closely by the girl. The girl finally spoke to her.  
"I'm Hermione. It's my first time every coming to Diagon Alley. You see, both my parents are dentists. We had absolutely _no_ idea I would be a witch! Of course, this would explain why I did _such_ extraordinary things when I was younger."  
Emma opened her mouth to respond, but the girl continued.  
"No one else in my family is magical, which I suppose is a good thing. But then again, I could have started reading up on it if anyone in my family had the books…."  
"Yeah, that's a shame." Emma cut in, eager to get away from this girl. She groaned, however, when she realized that they were both heading to Gringotts. She bit her lip as Hermione continued on about the importance of being a Muggle-born.

"Key." The goblin looked at Remus, who fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small golden key. The goblin checked it for a moment before ushering over another goblin. This one led them to where a mine cart was. Emma was glad to see that the girl Hermione instead was exchanging Muggle money.  
The three got into the cart, and with great speed, it descended down into the deeper portion of Gringotts. Emma, although having been in Gringotts before, had never actually travelled down to the vaults. She poked her head over the edge to look down into the deep abyss.  
"Is it true there's a dragon?" She asked the goblin.  
"They can't answer that," Remus responded when the goblin made no remark.  
The cart moved at speed faster, she believed, than the seeker for the Chudley Cannons. After a dizzying amount of twists and turns later, the cart finally stopped in front of Vault 783.  
The goblin opened the vault for them and stood aside. Emma's mouth fell open. Piles of galleons were scattered among the vault floor, more money than she had ever seen in her life.  
"This is all-?"  
"Your mother and father opened separate vaults for you and Harry. Saved up money for when you were older." Emma's eyes could not come off the mounds of galleons.  
"We'll only need a small portion of this," Remus said as he bent down and scooped a handful of galleons into a pouch. When he deemed they had enough, the two exited the vault and climbed back into the cart. If her mind wasn't so focused on her newfound wealth, she was sure the twists and turns going back would have made her sick.

Their next order of business was to go to Ollivanders for a wand. Located in the South Side of Diagon Alley, it was a rather tall and thin building squished between two others. When Emma entered, the room was dimly lit and dozens of shelves were squished within the walls, each holding at least a hundred wands. An old, rather fragile male appeared from behind one of the shelves. Emma jumped back in shock.  
"Ah, hello hello, and welcome to Ollivanders. You must be a first year. You need a wand?" Emma nodded her head. Mr. Ollivander pulled out a measuring tape, and began to take measurements.  
The tape, she noticed, moved by itself. From her elbow to her wrist, her nose to her shoulder, shoulder to wrist, and wrist to nose. Mr. Ollivander muttered to himself as he took note of her measurements before giving her different wands to try. "Which is your wand-hand, Ms.?"  
"Right, sir," Emma glanced over her shoulder to where Remus was waiting by the front door, leaning up against the wall. He gave her an encouraging smile.  
"Try this one. Just give a swish of the wand." Emma took the wand from him and flicked her wrist. Nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander quickly snatched it from her and gave her a different wand.  
After many attempts later, he gave her another wand. "Twelve and a quarter inches, cedar wood, surprisingly swishy." She flicked her wrist, and green sparks flew from the wand. Emma's mouth widened into a delighted smile.  
"How peculiar…the core is a phoenix feather, a feather that was split into two…of course, there is another wand out there with the other half of the feather, but also a different wand with a core that is brother to this feather….how strange indeed….." Mr. Ollivander whispered to himself as Remus paid for the wand. He quickly ushered Emma out.

They stopped at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The line was surprisingly short, and Madam Malkin herself measured Emma.  
"You're quite small, aren't you dear? But that's fine, won't be an issue at all for me." She stuck a pin in the fabric.  
Emma felt a pair of eyes watching her. She looked next to her, where a rather chubby boy with pink cheeks was watching her. When he saw she noticed, his pink cheeks turned pinker.  
"Sorry," he mumbled.  
"Is it your first year too?" She asked kindly. The boy nodded.  
"My name's Neville, Neville Longbottom. That's my nan and Great-Uncle." He tilted his head in the direction of a rather stern looking elderly woman and a cheerful looking man. "She didn't think she'd ever have to bring me to get robes."  
"Why's that?"  
"Thought I was a squib for the longest time. I never really showed true wizardly potential." He said sadly.  
"Oh," Emma paused awkwardly, before quickly adding, "I'm Emma Potter, and that's my godfather Remus."  
Neville's eyes immediately snapped back to her. "Potter? I heard a lot about….you must be great at magic."  
Emma shook her head with a look of chagrin. "I'm not that good…..I'm sure when we get to Hogwarts they'll teach us all the basics and whatnot." This last part finally made the boy smile.  
"I hope so. D'you know which House you want to be in?" Emma shook her head. "My parents were in Gryffindor, but I reckon I'll be sorted into Hufflepuff…." He trailed off.  
"My friend's in Hufflepuff. I like everyone in that House." This gave Neville reassurance. "I'll be fine with any House, as long as it's not Slytherin."  
"I don't think anyone wants to be sorted there." Neville agreed.  
"Yeah, except for the Slytherins themselves." By the time they were both measured for robes, Emma had made her first friend.

Neville and Emma decided to do the rest of their shopping together. The first shop they went into was Eeylops Owl Emporium ("My uncle was so happy to find out I was a wizard he offered to buy me a pet," Neville had explained to her). When the two entered, Algie was quick to say, "I'd reckon you'd be better off with a toad or something, Neville."  
"Him and Nan are just worried I can't take care of a pet," Neville muttered under his breath to Emma. Emma could understand why. From the short distance it was between Eeylops and Madam Malkin's, Neville had tripped over two signs outside shops and knocked into a warlock, causing the warlock to spill ice cream all down his robes.  
The two went up and down the aquatic aisles, Neville frowning as he looked at each toad.  
"Not very good-looking pets, are they?" His eyes scanned the tanks.  
"Do you mind what color it is?" Emma asked.  
"As long as it doesn't remind me of vomit," was Neville's response. It seemed like they were searching ages before Neville finally settled on brown-colored toad with black eyes.  
"What should I name him?" Neville asked her.  
"Well what does he look like?"  
"A toad." The two broke into laughter at that. When they finally calmed down, (a few of the owls in cages looked at them in annoyance, for they had woken a few up from slumber), Neville answered. "I reckon Trevor, yeah?"  
"Trevor the toad, it sounds nicely." As Neville and his Great-Uncle Algie went to pay for Trevor, Remus called Emma over.  
"Pick out a pet."  
"Sorry?"  
"Pick out a pet. It's your birthday present." Emma stared at Remus for a few seconds, before quickly shaking her head.  
"You don't need to get me any-"  
"I know I don't _need_ to Emma, I want to. Now what do you want? An owl, a cat, a toad…?"  
When their small group finally left Eeylops, Emma was holding a cage with a rather handsome tawny owl in it.

The rest of the shopping went quick. Neville and Emma picked up all their potion supplies at Apothecary and bought their Size 2 Pewter cauldrons at Potage's Cauldron Shop. Finally only one shop was left, and that was Flourish and Blotts. A large family of flame-haired people entered before Neville and Emma, and Emma turned to Remus.  
"Are those the Weasleys?" She had heard Amos mention them once when she was over there.  
Remus looked up and saw the last of them enter. "Yes they are. You can always tell a Weasley by their orange hair." He send it in a kindly tone. "I'll wait out here for you, yeah? I don't think they'll like it too much if you brought an owl in."  
Neville had already entered with his Nan and Great-Uncle. So Emma entered by herself, looking around the shop with a lost expression. Instantly Emma spotted a rather stout red-headed woman with a little red-headed girl clutching her arm.  
"Excuse me?" The woman turned around and smiled at her.  
"Yes, dear?" She said in a sweet tone.  
Emma fumbled with her list, hesitantly passing it to the woman. "I'm not exactly sure where all these books are…"  
"That's quite alright, dear. You're a first-year too! My youngest son, Ron, he's also starting his first-year…now where is he?" She looked around the shop, but couldn't find him. Instead, she spotted two identical flame-haired boys. "Fred! George!"  
The identical boys appeared, each wearing a mischievous grin. "Yeah, mum?" One responded. Emma noted that both were tall and rather lanky.  
"Can you show this girl-I'm sorry dear, what is your name?"  
"Emma." She replied meekly.  
"I'm Mrs. Weasley, and this here is Ginny." The girl on her arm gave a hesitant wave. Emma smiled at her.  
"Fred, show Emma where all these books are. George, go find Ron."  
"But mum, why can't I go and-" Mrs. Weasley cut the twin named George off.  
"Emma does not need to be traumatized by the mayhem you cause wherever you two ago." George looked like he was about to argue, but Mrs. Weasley gave him such a stern stare he mumbled something about finding Ron.  
Fred took the list from Emma's hand, scanning it over before handing it back. "First-year, that's fun. Me and my brother George are going into our third-year." The boy had a devilish twinkle in his brown eyes.  
"Do you have many siblings?" Emma asked, remembering that Amos once mentioned the size of the Weasley family.  
"There's Bill, Charlie, Percy, Me, George, Ron, and Ginny. So seven of us." Fred responded.  
"And only one girl?" She asked in a shocked tone. Fred laughed.  
"Yeah, she's lucky though. No hand-me downs." There was a brief silence. "You have any siblings?"  
"Well, one, but I've never met him. Harry-"  
"Potter?" He cut her off, now turning around to face her. He was already much taller than she. "You're the other one?" Emma felt her cheeks go red.  
"Yeah." She mumbled, picking at her nails.  
"Wicked! So you got a fancy scar too?" His eyes were scanning her forehead.  
Hesitantly, Emma rolled up her right sleeve and showed him the s-shaped mark.  
If Fred was disappointed over the shape of it, he didn't show it. "Wow, so that's where You-Know-Who-? Do you remember anything about what happened? You must get asked about this a lot, sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?" He was the first person she encountered to acknowledge that she came face-to-face with Lord Voldemort too.  
Emma was now as red as his hair, she was sure of it. Fred gave her a sheepish grin, helping roll down her sleeve. Although speaking about it did made her uncomfortable, Fred was one of the few people who didn't ask her about Harry, but asked her about, well, _her._  
"I have a habit of being speaking my thoughts aloud. Anyways, how many books do you need?" He leaned his head over her shoulder to get a look at the list. He had the faint smell of soot on him. _Floo Powder._ It didn't smell as bad on him as she thought the soot smelled.

Fred was very talkative, Emma learned. She didn't mind it though; she quite liked the sound of his voice. He was very funny, too. "My brother and I keep fireworks on us at all times, incase life gets a little boring," he was telling her. Even though Emma was quiet, Fred didn't seem to mind. When they had retrieved all her books, Fred carried them for her to the register. The other Weasleys were there as well.  
There were three Weasleys she hadn't met yet there. The oldest, who she assumed to be was Mr. Weasley, was thin and balding. What hair he had left was just as red as his children's. The tallest son there, wearing glasses, had a little "Prefect" badge on his vest.  
"Percy," Fred mumbled in her ear, noticing who she was staring at.  
That left the tall and lanky one with a long nose to be Ron. With a tinge of guilt, Emma noticed that all the books the Weasleys were buying were torn and old. She looked at the new ones in Fred's hands.  
She made certain to not show off the galleons jingling in her pocket as she paid for her books. Despite her protests, Fred carried the books out of Flourish and Blotts for her, only dropping them into her cauldron, which was next to Lupin.  
"Was very lovely meeting you, dear!" Mrs. Weasley waved at her. The other Weasleys in turn waved as well. Emma gave them all a large smile.  
"We'll see you at King's Cross September 1st then, eh?" The other twin, George, piped up.  
"Ronnie-kins here will be excited to have a friend." Ron's ears turned a violent shade of red as he scowled at Fred.  
"Leave your brother _alone._ And I better not hear of you two bewitching his trunk again…" Mrs. Weasley's voice drifted off as the family turned in the opposite direction. Ron glanced over his shoulder to where Emma was and gave a rather nervous grin. She waved him goodbye.  
"I see you've made friends left and right today." Remus grinned at her.  
"Yeah," Emma's voice was thoughtful, "At least I have two families to look for at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." She couldn't wait to see Neville and the Weasleys again.


	6. Train Ride to Hogwarts

**Author's Note: The ride to Hogwarts! I didn't want to make this too long so I didn't make Harry and Emma talk about everything this chapter. Next chapter is The Sorting Hat! Once again thank you for reading.-Nox :)**

August was an eternity for Emma. She skimmed through all of her school books, practiced sending letters with Tracker (she had decided that name suit her owl best), and helped Lupin sort out his large collection of "phases of the moon" novels. Sometimes she would play Quidditch with Cedric and his friends whenever she went to the Diggorys, but for the most part she remained bored, counting down the days until September.

Emma had her trunk packed the night of August 31st. Tracker was locked in his cage with a few treats and her wand was placed delicately on top of her luggage. She was restless that night, tossing and turning with the thoughts of what tomorrow would bring. _I wonder if Neville or the Weasleys will be there already, or if Cedric'll sit with me._ When she finally had closed her eyes, sleep carried her away and into a wondrous dream.

"Get up!" Emma groggily sat up, hair sticking to her pillow. Her shoulders shook as she yawned and she cast a brief glance at the alarm clock. Immediately she jumped up out of her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Scrambling to get her clothes, she zoomed past Lupin in the hallway and slammed the bathroom door, turning on the shower.

Once she was done showering she flew down the stairs and landed in front of Lupin, who tried in vain to smooth down the top of her head. "Are we going now?" She asked, grey eyes searching green.

"You haven't eaten yet," Lupin responded. Her eyes trailed to where two bowls of cereal were, and she slid into one of the chairs. As she took a bite of Frosted Cheerios, she noticed Lupin was merely pushing the flakes around in his bowl.

"Wha's wrong?" She asked through a mouthful of cereal, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I'm not very hungry." Was all he said. He looked especially pale and ill to her that morning. Emma frowned.

"Is there anything I can do-?" She had a quizzical expression on her face. Lupin smiled, shaking his head.

"Just go upstairs and bring your things down. But don't rush-I hired a cab to pick us up instead of taking the train." Lupin smiled as he saw the relief flood on the girl's face. "Though I don't see what the big deal is with trains."

The cab arrived at 10:00. It was a thirty minute drive to King's Cross, and by the time Emma and Lupin lugged her trunk and Tracker's cage into the station, it was already 10:45.

"Will I make it?" Emma's voice carried panic in it.

"Of course you will. The portal closes at 11:00, and it doesn't take 15 minutes to get through the barrier."

But Emma was still uncertain. Her eyes combed for Platform NIne and Three-Quarters, but to her horror, she saw none. Her bottom lip quivered nervously and she tugged on Lupin's sleeve.

"There's no platform!"

"But there is." Lupin placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face the barrier between Platform Nine and Platform Ten.

"See that brick wall?"

"Yeah," she responded nervously.

"You need to run straight ahead into it, no stopping." Emma licked her lips, nodding.

Placing her hands firmly on her trolley, she broke into a jog as she headed towards the barrier. Gradually she picked up speed, but she didn't see anything appearing. Now panicking, Emma broke out into full speed and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for impact…but impact never came. Daring to open one eye, she realized with a jolt she was no longer in King's Cross.

A magnificent crimson red train loomed before her, and dozens of wizards and witches alike chattered amicably around her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. Remus smirked next to her. "I told you you'd make it."

Emma scanned the families to see a familiar face, now feeling shy. She didn't see Cedric, or Neville, or Ron. She found Lupin's hand and squeezed it nervously. He looked down at her and gave her an encouraging smile.

"There'll be many first-years already on the train. I'll hand your luggage up to you, yeah?" She bit her lip and nodded. So she climbed up onto one of the train's compartments and, struggling, took the trunk Remus passed up.

When 5 minutes was called, Emma blinked at Lupin. "Guess this is goodbye?" She asked, twirling the hem of her shirt between her fingers.

"Yeah," Lupin now appeared much older than he was, frown lines appearing on his forehead.

"Goodbye, Lupin." She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into the chest she often hid into. He hesitated before encircling his arms around her and planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"Keep out of trouble, Emma. And write me letters." He pulled away and bent down to look into her eyes. "I love you, yeah?"

"Yeah, I love you two." She gave him a weak smile.

"Everyday, more and more like James," he sighed sadly before ruffling her hair. "Now go find a compartment before the train starts to move."

Emma pulled her trunk behind her, Tracker hooting as his head twisted and turned to look at their surroundings. Each compartment she passed seemed to be full, loud chatter breaking from each one. She quickly hurried down the hall, looking desperately to see red-hair or a pink face.

She eventually came across a compartment with a boy who looked awfully familiar. _Ron!_ She thought gleefully and sighed with relief. Hesitating, she slid the door open and peeked her head in.

"Er, hi." She mumbled. Ron and the boy sitting across from him looked up.

"Oh, uh, hi." Ron responded back, craning his neck to look around her. "Need a seat?" She nodded her head.

Ron and the boy helped her put her bags up on top, and Ron scooted over so she could sit. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, before Ron cleared his throat.

"This must be wild for you two, eh?" Emma and the boy blinked at him. "I mean, how long has it been since you've seen each other?"

Emma now took the time to look at the boy sitting across from them. His hair was an unruly jet-black and his face was the spitting image of the photograph she had for her father. Identical, even….except for the eyes. Shining like bright emeralds, his eyes were hard to look away from.

"You have your mother's eyes," she blurted out, before quickly adding, "I mean, er, our mother's eyes." Now the boy with bright green eyes looked at her incredulously.

"Our mother?"

"You-you are Harry Potter, yeah?" Her eyes flashed up to his forehead where the scar she had so long heard of was. It was a peculiar scar indeed; Emma never saw a scar quite like it, shaped like a lightning bolt.

"I am," He paused, before recognition finally lit his face, "Oh! Hagrid was telling me about having a relative! I just never thought…it would be….a relative as close as a sister." It was now Harry who was looking at Emma with a curious stare.

"Do you have a-?" He started, and Emma rolled her sleeve up.

"It's not like yours, but it hurts sometimes." Harry stared at her scar and brought a hand up to his; Emma wrapped her other hand over her wrist. For a brief moment both Potters felt a burning sensation prick at their scars.

They spent the next hour of the ride catching up. She told Harry and Ron everything about living with Lupin, and how she'd spend most days with the Diggorys (her cheeks went red as she mentioned Cedric), and of course, Quidditch. Harry told them all about life with the Dursleys, in which both Emma and Ron looked at him, mouths agape.

" _Muggles,_ " Emma said breathlessly, and Ron nodded in agreement. Harry could only laugh at their facial expressions to any Muggle concept he told them about.

When Harry was halfway through telling them about Dudley's video games, the compartment door slid open and Emma instantly recognized Neville. She beamed at him.

"Hello!" She chirped, and Neville's face lightened at her voice.

"Emma!" He went to say something, but then suddenly remembered why he was there. "Oh, it's terrible! Have any of you seen Trevor?" Harry and Ron exchanged a confused look.

"Trevor is a toad," she briefly explained, before turning her attention back on Neville. "Do you remember where you last had him?"

Neville shook his head miserably. "I can't even remember for sure if I brought him on the train….this other girl's helping me look though." He had tried to make the last sentence sound positive, but it only came out in a wail. When he left, Ron let out a snigger.

"I'll trade him Scabbers for Trevor."

Neville had not been gone for 5 minutes when the door slid open again. A bushy-haired girl entered and Emma recognized her as the girl from Diagon Alley.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his." The three shook their heads and she sighed. Her eyes fell onto Ron's wand. "Practicing magic? Let's see it then."

Ron hesitated before responding. "Alright." He took Scabbers out from his pocket (when Emma saw it was a rat, she blanched and scooted away). " _Sunshine daisies, Butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!_ " He tapped Scabbers but nothing happened.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ that wouldn't work, it's not a proper spell!" Ron scowled at her back.

Hermione's eyes now shifted to Harry, and she let out a small gasp. "I've read about you! You survived You-Know-Who's curse! I read all about it in one of our school books. Absolutely _amazing_ novel, I'd recommend you all to read it." And with that she stood up, adding a final, " _Honestly_ , Neville should keep a better watch on his pets." Ron mimicked her once the door closed.

It seemed as though the compartment door was always sliding. A boy with a pointed, pale face and silver-blonde hair entered, his cold gray eyes sweeping over the three. Two goons stood behind him.

"Potter, I see you're in such poor company." The boy's eyes slid over Emma and Ron and smirked.

"Go away, Draco." Ron muttered. The boy now turned his full attention onto Ron.

"Let's see, hand-me downs, red hair….must be a Weasley." The two boys behind Draco snickered. Ron's ears turned red.

"Let's see, filthy rich and an elf face….must be a Malfoy." Emma quipped, and Draco shot her a stare.

"And who might you be, Weasley's girlfriend?" Emma and Ron both went to reply, but Harry beat them to it.

"Leave us now, Draco." Draco's eyes snapped to Harry.

"Make us." But suddenly Draco let out a scream and flailed his hand. Scabbers smacked into the window and a small bite was now on Draco's hand. Him and his goons fled the compartment with quick speed.

"I guess you're not just a fat useless waste after all," Ron said affectionately to his rat.

The train was approaching Hogwarts quickly. Harry and Ron were changing robes inside the compartment, and Emma was doing it in the hallway for more room. She heard footsteps approaching her.

"Changing in a hallway, eh?" She instantly recognized the voice and looked up to see two identical twins. The two had a jocular glint in their eyes.

"Hello Emma. We know you…but do you know which one of us is which?" One winked at her. She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip….but then she saw a flash of warm recognition in the other twin's eyes and addressed him.

"Hello Fred," she now turned to the one who challenged her, "George." Fred and George gave her an impressed look.

"Well done," Fred nodded his head approvingly.

"How'd you know?" George said in a jokingly sullen tone.

"I-I just kind of knew." She replied sheepishly, her robes now on her. She looked at her feet with sudden shyness.

"Oi, if a kid with dreadlocks comes by and looks for us, you never saw us. Clear?" George asked her, a devilish smirk placed on his lips. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Got it." And with that Fred and George walked past her, Fred flashing her a impish grin.

When she returned back into the compartment, Ron and Harry were in their robes. Ron surveyed her.

"What are you so giddy about?"


	7. The Sorting Hat

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoy!-Nox :)**

"Firs' years follow me!" A giant man called, waving a lantern. He smiled and waved when he saw Harry. Harry grinned back.

"Hi Harry." The giant man called.

"Hi Hagrid!" Harry responded merrily. He turned to Emma and Ron. "Hagrid brought me my Hogwarts letter when the Dursleys wouldn't give it to me."

"Alrigh', firs' years get to the castle by boat." Hagrid said loudly, ushering the group of them to the lake.

Emma got into a boat with three others boys: Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini.

"Which house do you guys want to be in?" The Irish one, Seamus, asked.

"I don't know. Both my parents and my godfather were in Gryffindor." Emma replied. She thought she saw Blaise roll his eyes.

"And what about you?" Seamus asked Dean.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know any of the Houses, so I'm fine with any." At this Emma and Seamus gave him bewildered stares. "What?"

"You never heard of the four Houses? Brave Gryffindor, Clever Ravenclaw, Modest Hufflepuff, Evil Slytherin?"

"There's no need to be giving Slytherin a bad rep." Blaise muttered on his breath. Emma was sure she was the only one who heard him.

"I only found out about magic when I got my letter." Dean put his hands up in defense.

This made much more sense to Emma now.

"I should have known, Muggle-born."

"Hey!"

"Relax tiger, it just means you're born to two non-Magical people." Seamus said, a look of exasperation on his face.

At first, all Emma could see was the reflection of the lanterns on the lake. However, soon a magnificent castle came into view. The view was breathtaking; the closer they got, the more of the castle Emma could they landed, she saw the entrance was two gigantic wooden doors.

"Wow," she heard Seamus whisper.

Standing on the very top step was a stern looking woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her thin lips were pressed tightly together.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress." There was a silence among the students.

"When we enter, I expect you all to remain quiet and courteous. Professor Dumbledore will address the returning students, then we shall enter for the Sorting Ceremony."

Emma's hands grew sweaty as they began to line up. How would she be sorted? Would she be sorted into Gryffindor? Ravenclaw? Or…Slytherin? Thoughts raced through her mind as she followed Seamus into the building.

The entrance was huge. High ceilings and many lit torches, the room itself was breathtaking. They were forced into a small room, and as they were pressed against each other, Professor McGonagall made another comment.

"A student just asked me about your luggage. Do not worry, it was taken from the train and will be placed in your dormitories, depending which House you are sorted into."

It was time. Emma followed silently behind a girl with two blonde pigtails into the Great Hall.

"Single File!" Professor McGonagall called from the front.

Emma strained her head for a good look. On a stool was a battered, ugly looking witch hat. It had a deep tear in it. But soon the tear began to move-the hat began to speak. Emma let out a small gasp.

The hat began to speak;

" _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _F_ _or I'm a Thinking Cap!_ "

The Hall burst into applause. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, waiting for silence.

"When I call your name, come up.

"Abbot, Hannah!" The girl who was in front of Emma skittishly went up. she sat on the stool, and the hat was put over her head. Suddenly the hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF!" The second table cheered as she ran over to it, sitting down with a smile.

More names were called. "Finnigan, Seamus," was put into "GRYFFINDOR!" Hermione Granger was also put into Gryffindor. Emma bit back a laugh as she heard Ron groan behind her. A girl named Seona O'Lahey was placed in "RAVENCLAW!" The names began to dwindle. When Neville went up, she tried to catch his eye and give him an encouraging smile. When the hat was placed on his head, it hesitated before finally ringing out "GRYFFINDOR!"

She watched as Draco Malfoy went up. The hat had just brushed his silvery-blonde hair when it screamed "SLYTHERIN!" The table farthest to the left cheered. Emma regarded them with a wary eye. They all looked cold.

At last, the time had come. "Potter, Emma." The Hall fell to an eery silence as they heard the last name. People stood up to get a look at "the other twin." Emma took a deep breath as she made her way to the stool. She looked to where the Hufflepuff table was and found Cedric. He gave her an encouraging smile and waved. Feeling more confident (and with butterflies in her stomach), Emma sat down. With great care, she placed the hat on her head. It gave a jolt.

 _Well what do we have here? Oh, you have brains. Marvelous brains….it would suit you well to be placed in Ravenclaw. But is this book smart? I can feel you blushing from here, a humble girl, hm? Maybe Hufflepuff? Oh, but you have tremendous bravery, such great courage. Gryffindor would be honored to have you._ Emma waited with her breath held. _But no….I sense great things to come from you. And there is no House better for that than Slytherin…._ Emma let out a small gasp.

 _Not Slytherin._

 _Oh, so we don't like Slytherin, do we? Well….maybe you aren't suited for Slytherin. You remind me so much of a student who sat down once before, nearly 50 years ago….he had your spirit…..your potential….and he went into Slytherin…_

Emma closed her eyes shut.

 _Which House do you want to be in?_ Emma's knuckles were turning white as she gripped the edge of the stool. How long had she been up there?

 _I-whichever House you think I belong in._ She felt a sense of defeat wash over her. If Slytherin was her heart's desire…well, she was sure Lupin would still love her.

 _Interesting….not many people are so willing to leave the full choice up to me. You must be placed in_

"GRYFFINDOR!" Emma's heart skipped a beat. Relief washed over her as the table closest to gave out shouts. It seemed to her as though that table cheered the loudest. Shaking, Emma left the hat on the stool and scurried off to her new House. She slid into a seat next to Neville and across from Fred. Fred winked.

She now watched as Professor McGonagall called her brother's name. "Potter, Harry!" At his name even more people strained to see him. Emma held her breath once more as the hat was placed on his head. _Please be a Gryffindor._ Emma was not sure if the hat had spent more time on her or Harry. At last, the hat made up its mind. "GRYFFINDOR!" Emma clapped loudly as Harry sat on her other side, shaking. She nudged him with one elbow and grinned.

"Hat had a hard time choosing?"

Harry smirked. "Not as long as it took to decide on you. What, were you two having a heart to heart or something?" Emma stifled a laugh and returned to watching the rest of the ceremony.

Ron had been sorted into Gryffindor as well. He sat next to his older brother on the other side, who clapped him loudly on the back.

"Little Ronnie-kins, you keep the Weasley-Gryffindor tradition alive!" Fred sang to him. Ron's ears turned red.

All eyes turned to where Dumbledore stood. He stood up, smiling, before saying, "Before we feast, I have a few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" And with that he sat down.

"I wonder when the food'll appear." Almost at soon as Ron said this, food appeared on the table. Ron began to pile his plate high.

"Is he mad?" Emma heard Harry ask Ron.

"He's an absolute brilliant wizard, one of the greatest. Of course he's off his rocker. Potatoes?"

The food was, by far, the best Emma ever tasted. "Mum's a 'ood 'ook, but so is 'warts." Ron mumbled through a mouthful of food. Emma shared an amused glance with Harry before taking a bite into the tender chicken.

Emma found herself taking seconds for dinner. Lupin wasn't the best cook, and she only ate with the Diggorys for a short amount of time…..the Diggorys! Her eyes flashed up to where the Hufflepuff table was and spotted Cedric. He caught her eye and gave her a joking frowning face. She could almost hear him. _Not sorted with me?_ But then he laughed and gave her a thumbs up, before returning to a conversation with his friends. Emma felt the color rush to her cheeks and she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Who're you looking at, your boyfriend?" Fred craned his neck to where she had been looking. George, overhearing this, joined his brother's search. As Harry and Ron now also looked, Emma slunk deeper under the table.

When they spotted Cedric, the twins snorted.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Cedric Diggory. Tall, dark, handsome, strong….and a bloke." George responded, turning back to his food.

"He is not a bloke!" Emma shot back, playing with her potatoes.

"Doesn't he play Quidditch?" Ron piped up.

"Yeah, he's captain. Seeker too. I don't know why though. Seekers should be small and nimble….built like you, Harry."

Harry gave a lopsided smile at this, not sure if that was a good thing.

After they had finished dinner and eaten dessert, most of the students felt full and sleepy. The headmaster, Dumbledore, stood up again. "Welcome to Hogwarts, and for some of you, welcome back to Hogwarts. As always, we have such a promising group of wizards and witches in front of us. Before I can let you retire to your dorms, I have a few announcements. As most of you know, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, so do not try go sneaking into it." Emma could have sworn his piercing blue eyes were watching Fred and George when he said this. "Also, the third corridor is off-limits for every year. Thank you, and get a good night's rest! Prefects, lead the students to their common room please."

Emma turned to Percy. "Gryffindor First Years follow me!" He turned and began walking briskly towards a staircase. Hermione passed Emma, Harry and Ron, her nose buried in a book as she followed closely behind Percy.

"Match made in Heaven," Ron muttered under his breath, nodding his head at Percy and Hermione.

Neville caught up to them, his hands wrapped around Trevor. The toad croaking was the only noise in the hallway.

"Ugh! Scabbers," Ron groaned as the rat bit him, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Emma paled and began to walk faster. "What's the matter?"

"Not a fan of rats." She groaned, and she could hear Harry and Ron sniggering. Harry glanced down at the rat; it was true, it was disgusting looking. But Harry didn't want to leave Ron's side.

Ron began to talk about his siblings with Harry. "Percy, he's not the oldest, and he's a real pain. There's Bill and Charlie ahead of him. Charlie works with dragons and Bill is with Gringotts. Then you have the twins Fred and George who cause chaos just by breathing. Of course there's the best Weasley, me, and then we have our little sister Ginny who went mental for you." Percy shushed Ron. Ron made a face at the back of his head.

They had reached a portrait of a fat lady. "Password?" She asked.

"Flibber lot." Percy responded, and the portrait swung open. They climbed through it. "Girls go right up the stairs, your belongings are already there. Boys, follow me." Emma waved good night to Ron, Harry, and Neville.

Their dorms were on the highest level. Emma's mouth dropped as she saw the size of the four-poster beds. Finding where her belongings were, Emma quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She tried to stay awake, but the journey and food made it hard. Crawling under the covers, Emma had no trouble falling asleep on the soft, warm sheets.


	8. The Lesser Twin

**Author's Note: I feel like I haven't updated in forever! But school has finally wrapped itself up and I have time to focus on getting to the good stuff in this story. Everyone's favorite Professor, Severus Snape makes his grand entrance this chapter. I hope you enjoy! -Nox :D**

"Look at them!"

"Look at who?"

"The boy with the scar and the girl next to him."

"Are those-?"

"The boy who lived and his sister!"

Emma gradually grew used to the hushed whispers of excitement whenever she (or rather, Harry) walked past. Students would stand on desks or watch from a door as Harry and his sister passed. Emma could tell that Harry did not appreciate the attention. She didn't like it much either. Whenever someone stopped her it was more often than not to ask if Harry really survived the killing curse from You-Know-Who.

"I don't know," Emma would reply with a sharp tongue, "I was only one."

Regardless of this, Emma and Harry were amazed at the magic of Hogwarts. Their first weeks flew by as they navigated and learned the mapping of the castle. There were a hundred and forty-two staircases; rickety ones, narrow ones, steep ones, etc. Some of which would disappear on Fridays, some that would shift abruptly while you were walking on it, and some that never led you to the right floor. Emma especially hated one staircase in particular; she could never remember the vanishing step and had fallen so many times she began to lose count. Some of the rooms would relocate on Wednesdays, and other times the rooms would just change floors.

Ghosts were especially unhelpful. If you ever walked through a ghost such as Nearly-Headless Nick, a cold sensation would wash over you. Emma once made the mistake of walking behind the Bloody Baron and she thought as though her body had been cast with a freezing spell. Peeves, a Poltergeist who took pleasure in directing frightened first-years to the wrong wing, often made it hard for Emma or any of them to get where they needed to be. Filch, the caretaker who appeared to know every Nook and Cranny of Hogwarts loathed Peeves. It was hard to tell who Filch hated more: Peeves or students.

Argus Filch was the students' worst nightmare. He slunk down every hall with his bulging eyes looking for anyone out of line. He took great pleasure in writing students up for detention. Emma, Ron, and Harry had all gotten onto Filch's bad side quite early on. Filch had caught them trying to open up a locked door which they thought would lead them to the Great Hall for breakfast. It turned out to actually lead to the forbidden third floor corridor, and if not for Professor Quirrell, Filch would have torn them to shreds.

The only thing more annoying than Filch was his cat, Mrs. Norris. She would follow a person around with her large yellow eyes fixed, and if she caught anyone doing some bad, she'd run for Filch. She was almost always following Fred and George Weasley around.

Breakfast was phenomenal at Hogwarts. Emma had never seen so much food in one place. Ron began to pile food onto his plate while Harry did the same. She had just bitten into a croissant when Neville entered the Great Hall. She waved him over and the pink-faced boy grinned as he slid into the seat across from her.

"Orning effle." Ron managed to mumble through a mouth full of food.

"Hi Harry, Ron, Emma!" Neville greeted them all as he reached for toast and bacon. "Excited for Herbology?"

"Is that what we have first?" Harry asked from next to Emma. Emma glanced at her schedule; they had it with Hufflepuff, a House she didn't mind.

"Yeah, and then," Neville scrunched up his face as a look of panic set in, "I-I don't remember what comes after…." He finished nervously.

"History, Charms, Transfigurations, Defense Against the Dark Arts and then lunch." Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone as she found herself a seat near them. _Of course she'd remember the schedule to heart,_ Emma thought as she sunk her teeth into a piece of particularly burnt toast.

"Hey," Harry whispered. Emma looked over at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "Look up at Professor Snape."

Her eyes wandered up to where the Professors sat. On the night of the Sorting ceremony Fred and George had pointed out Snape to them. When she finally spotted Snape, her bright gray eyes met his cold dark ones. Immediately she turned back to scowl at Harry.

"Why'd ya tell me to look at him?" She hissed.

"Sorry! I didn't know he'd catch you staring," She could have sworn Harry was biting back a smirk. "But before he was practically giving Professor Quirrell a death stare."

Ron, who had now finished his second serving, joined the conversation. "Well of course he'd look at Quirrell like that. He's wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts since the beginning of time."

"He couldn't have wanted it since the beginning of time." Hermione squeezed herself into their conversation.

"How would you know?"

" _Because_ ," Hermione looked at Ron in disdain, "Professor Snape hasn't been alive since the beginning of time." Ron looked like he was going to murder her.

"It's a saying Hermione, do you not have expressions in your Muggle-world?" Ron shot back.

"Of coursewe do, it's just that I don't' think we should talk poorly about our professors." And with that she picked up her bag and the book she had been reading and left the Great Hall.

"That one is bloody annoying," Ron growled, livid. Harry and Emma avoided eye contact in fear they'd both die from laughter.

Herbology was out in the Greenhouse. Emma, Ron, Neville, and Harry all scurried their way across the grounds towards GreenHouse One. Hufflepuffs passed them as they walked.

Herbology went fine. Professor Sprout was a little, squat woman with a cheerful face and short, wavy gray hair. On top of her head was a patched and battered hat, and her robes were covered in dirt. She spent their first lesson putting them at stations and welcoming them to Hogwarts.

"In this class, we shall dive into the world of plants that surround the Magical world." She had said.

Emma wished she could have said History of Magic went the same. Professor Binns was the only ghost who taught at Hogwarts. The rumor was he had been in the faculty room, fell asleep, and when he awoke to go teach, left his body behind in the chair next to the fireplace. The class felt like an eternity to Emma and she began to pass notes with games on it to Seamus Finnegan, who was just as bored, if not more bored, as Emma. Professor Binns droned on while the class scribbled down names and dates that he said. At one point Emma had written Emeric the Evil.

"Not Emeric the Evil," Seamus hissed into her ear as he copied her notes, "It's Uric the Oddball, the one who was in Ravenclaw.." She glanced down at her notes.

"Oh," And with that she crossed out the name and wrote the correct one.

Their Charms Professor was tiny little Professor Flitwick who needed to stand on a tall stack of books to see over his desk. He began to take roll call of the class. He paused slightly after reading Emma's name. When he read her twin's, he gave out an excited squeak and lost his balance. Dean Thomas and Ron helped him back up.

Transfigurations was taught by Professor McGonagall, the head of the Gryffindor House. She was strict and clever, and as soon as they all sat down, began a lecture.

"This class will be one of the most difficult classes you attend. If you refuse to take this seriously and mess around, I can assure you that you will not be allowed back into this classroom for the rest of the year! And if you are a class clown, I can proudly tell you that I have a seat for you right next to my desk." Her gaze flickered over to Seamus Finnegan when she said this, and his grin disappeared quickly.

She then amazed them all by turning her desk into a pig and back. Eager to begin, the class was disappointed when she handed out matches. The goal was to turn the match into a needle. Points would be given based on how closely the match resembled at the end of class. Emma stuck her tongue out in concentration, but the best she managed to do was turn the match silver. At the end, Hermione was the only person to make hers look remotely like a needle. Professor McGonagall shared with her a rare smile and showed to the rest of them how sharp and pointy it had become.

Emma was eager for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was greatly disappointed, however. She was the first to arrive and sat down two rows back from Quirrell's desk. When she entered, his eyes glanced up at her nervously. When their eyes met, Emma felt a burning sensation in her arm and immediately clutched her wrist with her hand. After a few moments however, the class began to flood in and the pain vanished.

The class was a bit of a joke. The room stunk of garlic and Emma took to covering her nose with her sleeve. She noticed that Ron and Harry did the same. Professor Quirrell, when asked about his turban, told them of how it was a gift from an Egyptian prince for saving him from a zombie. When Seamus asked how he defeated the zombie, Quirrell turned a bright pink and quickly changed the subject, stuttering about the weather. Emma couldn't help but stare at the back of his turban when he began to write, an uneasy feeling prickling at her skin. Fred and George had sworn to her that Quirrell kept garlic in his turban so that he was never unprotected from the vampires. It would explain the smell of his room.

Friday was a small accomplishment for Emma, Ron, and Harry. They made it to the Great Hall without getting lost, and were able to get good seats at the table.

"What do we have?" Harry asked as he dipped bread into his dippy egg.

"Double potions with the Slytherins," Ron groaned. "Snape is head of their House and always favorites them. Kill me now."

Harry had said something about wishing McGonagall favored Gryffindors, but Emma wasn't paying attention. Cedric had walked into the Great Hall and waved at her. Her cheeks turned a soft pink as she waved back, before quickly looking down at her plate, smiling like an idiot.

Ron was about to poke fun at Emma before the mail arrived. Tracker soared towards Emma, his beak holding a letter. She knew who it was from before he even landed. Lupin had taken to sending her a letter weekly, informing her of what was going on. She felt a twinge of sadness as she remembered her godfather.

When Tracker dropped the letter onto her plate, he nibbled affectionately on her ear, hopping onto her shoulder. She giggled and broke a piece of toast for him, which he gladly accepted from her hands. She noticed Ron received a letter from his parents, and Harry too had gotten a letter. She opened hers first.

 _ **Emma,**_

 _ **How have the classes been treating you? Good, I hope. The house has been oddly quiet without you, but I'll manage. I'm glad to see your owl still pesters me for a letter (and also for my breakfast). By now you're probably getting used to the castle, and Quidditch season will be starting up soon! I'm sure you'll be in the stands cheering for Gryffindor to win the Cup! Which reminds me once more to congratulate you on being sorted into Gryffindor! I always knew you were a lion at heart. Send me a letter when you can!**_

 _ **Love, Lupin**_

Emma smiled as she carefully folded the letter and stuck it in her bag. She now looked over Harry's shoulder.

"Hagrid?" She asked as she read over the messy handwriting.

"He's invited me for tea this afternoon. D'you two wanna come?"

"Well we don't have anything better to do." Ron replied. The three grinned as they eagerly awaited for tea with Hagrid. It couldn't come soon enough.

Potions was in the dungeons, which were always freezing. Emma could she her breath as she descended into down into the darkness, Ron grumbling behind her and Harry shivering in front of her. This was the class Emma dreaded the most; whenever she saw Snape he sneered at her and looked the other way. As they entered the classroom, Emma pulled her robes tighter around her.

She scanned the room as Slytherins entered. Scowling, she nodded her in the direction of where a group of them were sitting, clearly annoyed. Ron and Harry's gazes fell onto the pale, pointed face they knew too well. Draco Malfoy was sitting between Crabbe and Goyle, his cold gray eyes on something in his hand. He was showing all the Slytherins a photo of him on his new broomstick.

The dungeon door slammed behind them and Emma nearly fell out of her seat. Professor Snape silently strutted past her; he had greasy black hair, crooked nose, and pale skin. His dark black eyes surveyed the classroom, and Emma could have sworn his gaze lingered on her longer than on anyone else.

He began class with roll call. When he got to Emma's name, he stopped and looked up at her.

"Emma Potter, I assume you're already used to people not giving you any special treatment. Don't expect me to be any different." Draco Malfoy held his hand to his mouth as he and other Slytherins sniggered. Emma turned red.

"Harry Potter," Snape then said in a mock tone of awe. "Oh, aren't we so _lucky_ to have a celebrity among our ranks." The Slytherins howled with laughter, but Snape, who was smiling softly, held a hand up to shush them.

"In this class you will learn the science and works of potionmaking. This is not an easy class and I do not expect lazy participation." Snape had a soft voice, but no one dared to speak while he was. He had that kind of effect. "You will study and you will listen and you will learn. Do not expect me to help you if you choose not to take note of what I am saying. This is not a class that needs wand-waving, and you might not even see this as magic. You may not learn to appreciate the simmering of cauldrons, but I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory….stopper death. I can teach you all of this…that is, if you aren't the dunderheads I normally teach every year."

Emma's eyebrows raised as he said this last part, and her dislike for him grew. She heard Neville gulp next to her, and Hermione was on the edge of her seat, like an eager owl.

"Potter," Snape suddenly snapped, and both Emma and Harry looked up. Snape regarded Emma coldly. "Not you, I was calling Potter who is actually relevant." Emma looked down at her lap in embarrassment.

"Potter," he said again, and Emma could feel his cruel eyes on her as she twiddled her fingers. "Can you tell me what would happen if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione raised her hand so fast Emma nearly fell off her seat. She could hear Seamus and Dean laughing softly behind her. With all the times Hermione nearly whacked Emma in the fact from hand-raising, Emma expected to be less surprised.

"I-I don't know, sir." Harry said. A sinister smile played on Snape's lips.

"Did you not read, Potter? Are you too good for that, Potter?" Snape hounded him.

"Sir, I think the only person in this room who could answer your question is sitting next to me." The class fell silent and turned to look at Emma. Even Emma was surprised to find that those words came form her mouth. Snape looked at her for a brief moment of shock.

Within an instant, Snape was standing over her, his empty black eyes boring down on her. "What did you say?" He snarled.

"I-I was just sa-saying how only Hermione…..knows." Emma lost all her confidence. Shyness swept over her and she looked up in fear at Snape, her heart pounding.

"You look so much like your mother, almost exactly like her." Snape murmured softly, and Emma thought his face soften. This look quickly changed as he loomed over her, however. "But you're just like your father! Foolish, ignorant, vain, small-minded…I could go on about how similar you two are in personality! Exactly the same self-absorbed, arrogant aura!" The entire class was now focused on them.

"You should learn to keep your cocky comments to yourself Potter and watch that tongue of yours. Ten points from Gryffindor!" Emma's jaw fell slack. Her eyes quickly fell back to her lap and she managed to squeak out a quiet apology, her entire face red.

The rest of the class, Harry and Emma were silent. They did their work, did not look at Snape, and followed every instruction for a potion that cures boils. Emma couldn't even bring herself to talk to Neville, whose potion had turned a nasty magenta and was smoking. She had lost her voice in the dungeon.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snapped when Neville had gotten the potion on himself. Snape made Seamus take Neville to the hospital wing while with a flick of his wand the spill disappeared. Throughout the course of the class, Snape had taken ten points from Emma, and two points from Harry.

When class was over, Emma was the first out the door. She didn't bother waiting for Ron and Harry, tears already beginning to form. She hurriedly wiped her eyes with her sleeves with a look of chagrin. _Great, now I'll look like a giant baby. Big bad Snape made Potter cry._ She thought bitterly. Ron and Harry jogged to catch up to her.

"What a git!" Ron cried when they were out of earshot, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Emma tried her best to avoid eye contact.

"Cheer up you two, Snape is always taking points from Fred and George." Ron tried in vain to make them smile.

"Yeah, but ever ten points?" Emma whispered.

At ten to three they trekked down to Hagrid's hut. Harry knocked on it first.

"Back Fang- _back_." They could hear Hagrid talking to something that was scraping on the door. When he opened it, he greeted them all with a large smile.

He was struggling to keep back a giant boarhound whose tail was wagging like crazy. When Hagrid finally let go, it jumped at them with great excitement. Emma smiled as she pet the dog.

Hagrid's hut was only one room, but it felt like a home. There was a bed in the corner, a fireplace with a tea kettle, a small dining set, and a bed with a quilt, which she assumed was Fang's.

"Make yerselves at home. Rock cakes?" He offered.

"This is Ron," Harry introduced the red-headed boy. "And I believe you know Emma."

Hagrid glanced at the ginger hair and freckles and commented, "Always chosen' yer twin brothers away from the Forbidden Forest."

The rock cakes were hard and lumpy, but none of them had the heart to put them down in front of Hagrid. Instead, they stuffed them into their pockets when he wasn't looking.

"Flich, he's a git. An' that cat Mrs. Norris, follows me everywhere. Like her to me Fang."

It was Harry who told Hagrid of Snape's lesson. When he told him of what Snape said to Hagrid, he patted her on the back in comfort. But, he told them that Snape was like that to all students. Just like Ron had told them before.

"But the way he looked at us Hagrid," Harry argued. "It was pure loathing."

"He doesn't hate you two!" Hagrid shot back, but he avoided their eyes.

"How's yer brother Charlie? Working with animals?" Hagrid quickly changed the subject. Ron began to respond yes, but something else caught Emma's eyes.

She scanned over the Daily Prophet, frowning. Ron had told them about a break-in at Gringotts on the train, but she noticed the date. It was their birthday.

Harry noticed too, because he began to question Hagrid. It was the day that they were at Gringotts, he told Hagrid. Hagrid coughed uncomfortably and made a fuss about how late it was getting. He ushered them out and gave them more rock cakes before waving them off.

As they walked back to the castle, Harry plunged into detail about how Hagrid had emptied a vault that day.

"D'you think it was the vault that was broken into?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. It might be though." Harry paused. "I wonder what was in the vault?"

Emma bit her lip as they trudged up the hill. Who would ever be stupid enough to try and steal from Gringotts? Didn't they know goblins were very careful with their bank? And that there might be a dragon in the vaults?

She tuned back into Harry and Ron's conversation.

"Reckon Dumbledore sensed someone would break-in. You have to hand it to that bat-crazy old man, he is the most intelligent wizard out there." Ron uttered in amazement.

"Well whatever was in it, it must be important. Why else would someone be crazy enough to break into Gringotts?" Harry added.

"Maybe Dumbledore has the package in his office right now." Emma finally responded. A comfortable silence fell over them as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.


	9. The Unknown Voice

**Author's Note: I definitely got carried away writing this! But I have a new-found love for writing anything with Draco and his sass in it! I really hope you all enjoy this! If any of you'd like to answer, I wonder who your favorite characters are from the series? Have a great weekend and thanks for reading! -Nox :D**

Emma eagerly squeezed herself between the Weasley twins as she scanned the Gryffindor Bulletin Board. She found _Quidditch Practice_ quickly on a notice paper.

"Practice begins Thursday, and Gryffindors are with-" She stopped short and groaned loudly as she read the last word.

"Slytherins, that's rough," George said from her left.

"Always am telling Wood how it wouldn't cost us too many points if we knocked out their captain, Flint." Fred added.

Emma's mood decreased drastically when she saw who they'd be flying with. Emma loved Quidditch and absolutely loved to fly. _Of course Malfoy would find a way to ruin that for me,_ she thought bitterly as she made her way out of the Common Room with the Weasley twins.

Harry and Ron were still sleeping. It was true, she guessed, that it was a bit early to be up. The sun had barely risen when Emma leapt out of her bed and scrambled down the stairs. Not that she was an early bird-Hermione kept her awake most of the night with "Lumos" as Hermione read one of the many books she brought with her to Hogwarts. Emma wondered if the girl had many friends.

She was confident that flying would be the only thing Hermione wasn't good at. Hermione was Muggle-born; she had never ridden a broom in her life. Emma smiled smugly as she realized she'd finally beat Hermione at something. This feeling disappeared quickly however and was replaced with guilt. Hermione had been reading _Quidditch Through The Ages_ for the past week, boring them all as she told them tips she read about at breakfast. The only person who was more nervous than Hermione about flying was Neville Longbottom.

Neville was accident-prone. Her first friend she made, Neville told her about how his gran would never let him on a broom. Emma expressed her sympathy with him, but secretly she agreed with her gran. Neville was already a walking disaster; it wouldn't do him well to be a flying disaster too.

And probably the worst of all the flying fears combined was Draco Malfoy. Emma loathed Draco Malfoy the day he opened his dumb mouth. Everything he said irked Emma, and she was certain everything she said bugged him. Whenever she walked by, Draco would be droning on about how _fantastic_ he was at flying and how his father would think the school absolutely _stupid_ if his precious little son wasn't offered a position on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Harry, Ron, and Emma often talked about how Draco was probably making it all up. As Ron had pointed out to them, just because Draco was rich didn't mean he could buy himself flying skills.

However, it seemed many people suddenly had the flying skills of a "professional Chaser" when it came to talking about the lessons. Seamus Finnegan had sworn to Emma in History of Magic that when he was younger he never learned how to walk because he was always on his broomstick. Even Ron was telling everyone who he ran into that he was better at diving than a hawk. Emma couldn't help joining along as well. She told her fellow Gryffindors about how she already played in her first Quidditch match with Oliver Wood. Of course, she made herself sound better than she had actually played, but at this point Emma could have said she slain a dragon and people would believe her.

Her thoughts now were focused on breakfast, however, as she went through the portrait hole with Fred and George. The two filled her in on their plans for the day, many of which involved the terrorizing of Argus Filch. Emma once more forgot the vanishing step but Fred was quick to catch her fall. She was about to thank him when her cheeks turned bright red and she scrambled to smooth down her untidy hair.

"What's you-oh," Fred snorted.

"I do so hope he says hello to us, don't you Fred?" George mocked.

Emma ignored them as she spotted Cedric Diggory and his friends walking down the adjacent staircase. When he spotted her he grinned and waved her over.

"Hey Emma! Haven't seen you much around the school." Cedric said.

"Yeah, I gu-guess our schedules aren't really similar. I mean, I'm s-sure I would notice your face in the hall." She instantly regretted her words. _Now I sound like a creep._

"Oh _yes_ Cedric, it pains me so that we don't see each other more." Fred jeered, mockingly placing his hand over his heart in forlorn. Emma glared at him.

"Well, maybe after breakfast I can give you a pep talk for flying lessons. Noticed you guys were paired with Slytherin, sorry to hear about that." Cedric smiled at Emma, hesitating before nodding to Fred and George.

"You two don't have to be such gits." She snapped as soon as Cedric was out of earshot. Fred rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be so in love with the guy. Honestly, I don't see what you girls see in him. George?"

"I dunno Fred. He has a nice rear." Emma's face went bright as she scurried to the Great Hall, the twins roaring with laughter as they jogged to catch up to her.

"Unbelievable, really. This is the school having a crack at us." Ron mumbled as they made their way down to the Quidditch Field at three-thirty. "Gryffindors and Slytherins. Might as well told the entire school a fight was happening at the Field. Don't be late."

Harry and Emma laughed as they filed behind the rest of the Gryffindor first-years. She noticed that the Slytherins were already there. The day was wonderful: sunny, breezy, perfect for flying. Along the grass laid down broomsticks. Fred and George had complained about the school broomsticks, telling her and Harry about how if you didn't hold the handle a certain way it would begin to jerk violently.

"Alright, stand next to a broom, and be quick about it!" A woman with hawk-like yellow eyes and gray hair. It was their teacher, Madam Hooch.

Emma looked down at her broomstick and frowned. It was battered and appeared to be missing quite a bit of straw.

"On my say, hold your hand over the broomstick and say 'Up!' in a commanding tone." Madam Hooch said. "Now!"

Emma commanded "Up!" and the broomstick rose with ease into her hand. She encircled her fingers around it, appreciating the hard wooden surface. She glanced around and couldn't help but feel smug as she realized she was the first to do it.

Harry did it on his first try as well. She noticed how her brother's face lit up in surprise, and it was only then that she remembered he was raised by Muggles.

"Nicely done Potters," Hooch nodded her head approvingly.

Emma looked around to stick her tongue out at Draco and gloat, but scowled when she saw he was already smirking at her, broom in hand. _Git._

Hermione was struggling with hers. "Up!" She kept shouting, face turning pink from the yelling. It took Ron a while, but eventually the broom flew into his hand. He looked over at the Potters and nodded his head in the direction of Hermione, raising his eyebrows with laughter in his eyes.

Neville's luck wasn't different on the Field. When he said "Up!" the broom smacked him right in the face. Draco and the other Slytherins began to howl with laughter, and immediately Ron jumped to his defense.

"Shut up Malfoy!" Ron barked.

"Sorry Weasley, I forgot. You must be used to malfunctioned brooms. It's the only ones your family could afford."

At this Emma, Harry, and Ron began to make their way towards the pale blonde-haired boy, but Madam Hooch was now moving onto their next instruction.

"Now, put one leg over the broom and hold your hands tightly on the handle. Do _not_ begin to fly!"

Emma swung one leg over her broom and placed her hands around the neck of the broomstick. Her fingers ran over the cracks in the wood as she remembered how good it was to be up in the air. She couldn't wait.

Someone let out a cry and Emma's head snapped up. Neville's broom began to float higher and higher, Neville's face blanching as he looked down.

"Fly down!" Hooch called, but either Neville didn't know how or the broom was malfunctioning. Neville began to slip and the class went silent as the broom began to jerk violently. With one motion, Neville slid off the broom and fell straight towards the ground; Emma reckoned it had to be a twenty-foot drop.

Madam Hooch raised over to Neville and Emma strained her neck to see if her friend was okay. The broom had continued to float until it disappeared over the Forbidden Forest.

"Broken wrist-alright, alright, we're going to get you to Madam Pomfrey," Madam Hooch murmured, her face white with shock as she helped Neville. Neville was groaning and clutching onto his wrist , shaking.

"None of you dare touch those brooms or you will be expelled faster than you can say Quidditch!" She snapped over her shoulder as the two disappeared into the castle, Madam Hooch telling him "it's alright dear, you'll be fixed up in no time."

As soon as Madam Hooch was out of earshot, Draco Malfoy suddenly spoke loudly, "Did you see his face? He looked like such an oaf!" The Slytherins laughed at his joke.

"Shut up Malfoy!" Emma snarled.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom? Didn't realize you fancied him Emma. But then again, I guess you're used to settling for less." Draco sneered at her. Emma's blood began to boil.

"Look, the doofus dropped something!" Draco sauntered over to where Neville had been and picked up a round object. "It's his Remembrall!" Draco began to toss it up in the air.

"Give it to me, Malfoy." Harry whispered from next to her.

The class went quiet as Draco and Harry stared each other down.

"Make me, Potter."

Harry and Ron both stepped forward, but Draco shouted "Up!" And within seconds he flew up.

"Get back down!" Parvati hissed, eyes widening. "You'll get us in trouble!"

"Catch me if you can Potter! Unless, you're afraid?" Draco shouted to Harry.

Emma had just turned to Harry, but he was already off on his broomstick. Uncertainty flickered through her as she looked at her own broomstick. Ron shook his head next to her, but it was too late. Emma was up.

Draco now had a look of panic in his eyes as he saw both Potters zooming towards him.

"No bodyguards up here, Malfoy!" Harry shouted. The wind blew through Emma's hair as she leaned forward, gaining speed. Draco eyed her with fear.

"Go for it!" He shouted and with one great effort, he threw the Remembrall across the Field.

Harry stopped and began to speed down the Field towards the Castle, reaching desperately for Neville's Remembrall. Emma, unfortunately, was going too fast. She slammed into Draco and knocked him off of his broom, both now barreling towards the ground.

"Do something!" Draco shouted to the horrified crowd underneath him, all of whom were watching the two of them and Harry. Emma did not see Harry do a dangerous dive and catch the Remembrall with seconds to spare. She was too busy free-falling, her hands reaching hopelessly for the broom handle. And with sheer luck, her fingers managed to wrap around the neck of Draco's broomstick and balance herself on it with one hand.

She had no time to pull herself up. With great reluctance she caught Draco by the wrist, and with their combined weight, the broom began to float lazily back towards the ground. Emma's heart was racing.

"Potter!" Her head snapped up as she and Draco finally reached the safety of the ground. Draco was as white as his face, staring at her speechlessly.

Emma turned around, shaking, as she saw Professor McGonagall storming across the grounds. But she wasn't looking at Emma-her eyes were on Harry.

"Come with me, now!"

"But Professor!"

"Quiet, Ms. Brown!"

"It was all Draco's-"

" _Enough_ Mr. Weasley, or do you want points taken from Gryffindor?"

Professor McGonagall and Harry began to walk wordlessly back towards the castle, leaving the students behind. Immediately Ron turned to Emma.

"Blimey, I thought you'd be dead for sure! Had to be eighty-feet high, thanks to that weasel!" Ron glared at Draco.

"I reckon you're faster than Harry!" Seamus found his voice, nodding at Emma.

"Way to get your hand on that broom at the last second. Too bad you caught that one too," Dean Thomas pointed accusingly at Draco.

Emma tried to speak but couldn't, so instead she gave them all a weak grin. At this point many Gryffindors were commenting on her flying talents, "Could be a bloody Chaser!", Ron even adding.

Her eyes focused on where Draco was. He was surrounded by Slytherins, but seemed to have felt her stare. His cold gray eyes met her bright ones. She expected a nod or whisper of thanks, but the Slytherin only scowled and turned his back on her. _Last time I save your life, you lousy weasel._

Ron and Emma waited anxiously for Harry back in the common room.

"D'you think he'll be expelled?" Emma whispered to Ron. The two were playing Wizard Chess as they waited.

"He can't be, it's Draco's bloody fault anyway," Ron replied as he beat her once more at the game. "Checkmate."

The portrait swung open and Harry stepped through the hole. Immediately he was swarmed my dozens of Gryffindors exacting the same thing.

"What happened, Harry?"

"Is it true you dove to catch it?"

"Did McGonagall give you detention?"

Harry smiled sheepishly as he pushed through the crowd and found his way to where Emma and Ron were by the fire.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what did Professor McGonagall say?" Ron and Emma both sat on the edge of their seats.

Harry looked around, dropping his voice to barely more than a whisper. "I'm the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

Ron's jaw dropped. Emma stared at him, mouth agape. "As in, _Seeker_ Seeker?"

"Shh!" Harry said to Ron, before nodding his head. His entire face lit up as he grinned. "I met Wood, said he thinks we have a chance at winning the Cup this year."

"Well no kidding!" Emma responded. "I heard even Charlie Weasley wouldn't have been able to catch the Remembrall like you did!"

At that point Oliver Wood passed them. Spotting Harry, he slid next to Emma, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"Can't wait, Potter." He then turned to Emma, his expression turning serious. "Next year I better see you on trying out for Chaster, do I make myself clear?"

Emma smirked. "Yes sir!" Wood nodded his head, chuckling. "I can't wait to rub that Cup in Flint's dumb face."

At breakfast the next morning, mail came as usual. Tracker swooped over Emma, dropping a letter in her lap. She didn't need to look at the name to know it was from Lupin. She was just about to open it when she heard people talking and pointing up. She looked to see a few owls carrying a parcel in the shape of a broomstick. They stopped and dropped it in front of Harry, splashing pumpkin juice onto Ron.

"Don't open now." Harry read as he picked up the letter with it.

"Your new broom, Harry?" George piped up. Harry looked up alarmingly, but the twins laughed.

"Wood told us. Thought he was going to pee himself he was so excited." Fred responded, biting into his toast.

Harry, Ron, and Emma rushed to finish their breakfast. They were just out of the Great Hall when they heard a familiar sneering voice.

"What's that Potter?"

"None of your business, Malfoy."

Draco pushed past Ron and Emma to have a look at Harry's parcel. A wicked smile played on his lips as Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him.

"First-years aren't allowed to have brooms."

"Well, Harry has special privilege. He's the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" Ron couldn't contain himself. The look on Draco's face was priceless.

"You're bluffing!" Draco snapped, but Emma could see the doubt in his eyes. Just then Professor Flitwick walked by.

"Professor, Potter got a broom!" Draco quickly said. Flitwick turned to look at the parcel in Harry's hand and beamed.

"Professor McGonagall told me about your new position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team! I must say, I cannot wait to see you play!" And with that he skipped away, humming to himself.

Harry and Ron gave smug smirks to Draco. Draco was livid.

"You think you're so special Potter, but you'd stand no chance against me in a wizard's duel."

"You want to bet on that Malfoy?" Harry challenged. Draco smiled.

"I do. What say at midnight, in the trophy room?" Draco asked, tilting his head as he waited for a response.

"He accepts. I'll be his second." Ron responded without skipping a beat.

Draco turned to size up Crabbe and Goyle. "Crabbe will be my second. See you at midnight."

Harry and Ron began to retreat to the staircase leading to the Gryffindor Common Room. Crabbe and Goyle turned, talking to each other. Draco was just about to follow but Emma stopped him.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Don't you have something you want to tell me?" She stood there, her hands on her hips.

Draco laughed. "I have nothing that I want to say to you, Potter. I don't like wasting words on unimportant people."

Emma lost her temper. She marched towards Draco, backing him into the wall. For a second she thought she saw fear flicker in his eyes. "You ungrateful prat! I didn't need to save your pathetic behind out on the field, _especially_ after how you treated my friends! And the least you can do is thank me, and you won't even do that?"

Draco stuck his hands up in defense. "You think _I_ should thank _you_? You're the one who came barreling into me! _You_ should be apologizing to _me_!"

Emma had just stuck her finger in Draco's face when Professor Snape walked past with Professor Quirrell.

"What is going on here, Miss Potter?" Snape drawled. Emma gulped.

"Potter is threatening me, sir." Emma turned to glare up at Draco, who was smirking down at her.

"Now now, Miss Potter. We should be nice to everyone. I'll take two points from Gryffindor. Is that fair, Miss Potter?" Emma's ground her teeth but said nothing.

"Well?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get on your way." Snape's cloak fluttered behind him as Quirrell and he walked down the corridor.

Draco laughed as he walked in the opposite direction of Emma, winking at her over his shoulder. "Be a little nicer, Potter. You look better when you smile."

Emma let out one last growl before turning, silently stalking after Snape and Quirrell, all the while wishing for Draco to break his face.

As Emma followed Snape and Quirrell, she began to pick up on what they were talking about.

"I saw you lingering near the door to the third-corridor, Quirinus." Snape's cold voice drawled out.

"W-what a-a-re you t-talking about S-S-Severus?" The other stuttered. Emma had a feeling students weren't the only ones intimidated by the dark professor.

"Don't play dumb with me. You _know_ we shouldn't be around there. Unless, do you know how to get past it?" Snape's voice held a suspecting tone.

"O-Of course not!" Quirrell squeaked, but Emma couldn't help but feel as though he was lying.

"Well, if I hear you going anywhere near there and I am not around, you won't have to be worrying about the vampires." Emma quickly hid behind a knight as Snape abruptly turned and glided the way he came. She peeked her head around to look at Quirrell.

"H-he mustn't know. He-he-he'll ruin it all." She could hear him mutter to himself.

 _Is Snape threatening Quirrell for something?_

When Emma finally entered the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry and Ron were already sitting in their usual seats. They greeted her as she sat down.

"Hey, what took you so long?"

"Yeah, you missed the unwrapping of Harry's broomstick. Hey, is everything all right? You look bothered."

"Never mind the broom, I heard Snape and Quirrell talking about the third-corridor." Emma said in hushed excitement. Ron and Harry sat up.

"What were they saying?" Harry questioned.

"I don't know what exactly, but Snape was asking Quirrell if he knew how to get past it. Whatever 'it' is."

"Bloody hell, do you think the third-corridor has vampires in it?" Ron asked when Emma told them of Snape's threat.

"No Ron." Emma snapped, but then paused. "Although, maybe that's why Quirrell….no. Dumbledore would never let anything dangerous in these walls!"

"You don't know that," Ron argued. "He's let Snape in here for who knows how many years!"

Harry finally spoke up. "We'll have to keep a closer eye on Snape. But first, when should we leave for the duel?"

It was half past eleven when Emma woke up, still in her robes. She looked around the room, and to her relief, everyone else was asleep. As quiet as she could, she slipped out of her bed and made her way down the stairs. Harry and Ron were already there.

"You're coming too?" Ron asked as he spotted her.

"Of course I am, I'd love to see Dr-"

"So you were serious about dueling Draco?" A third voice made them all turn around. Hermione was there in one of the chairs, her eyes full of disapproval.

Ron groaned. "What do you want?"

"To stop you. Gryffindor doesn't need anymore points taken off because you three idiots decided to go out past curfew."

Ron scowled at her. "This has nothing to do with you, go to bed!"

The three stepped through the portrait hole, but Hermione followed.

"This is my last warning, get back to bed!"

The other three ignored her and began to walk.

Hermione turned to enter, but she let out a gasp. "The Fat Lady isn't here!" Worried, she began to trail after them.

"Go ba-OUCH!" Ron fell onto the ground, and another person let out a small squeak.

" _Quiet Ron!_ " Harry hissed. Emma looked at the ground and recognized the boy on the floor.

"Neville?" She asked.

"I couldn't remember the password," He whispered. "Thank God you came!"

"The Fat Lady isn't there. We can't get back in." Hermione snapped at him.

Harry and Ron had begun to walk already. Hermione and Neville jogged to keep up while Emma made up the rear. She could vaguely hear Harry and Ron explaining the Midnight Duel to them, but something down the dark hall caught her eye.

She slowed her pace until gradually the other four got smaller and smaller. Was that a small light? She turned down the hall, her footsteps soundless. She could hear two voices. She recognized the stuttering one instantly as Professor Quirrell, but couldn't make out the second one. Was it Snape? With silent steps, she crept towards where the light was pooling out from underneath a door. She pressed her ear to the door and held her breath.

"I-I know, b-b-" Quirrell was cut off.

"Silence! You've already messed up once before!" The other voice hissed. It was high-pitched and Emma knew it wasn't Snape's.

"Th-that was a m-mistake. B-but how wa-was I su-supposed to know the s-s-security they had?"

"Everyone knows! Only an idiot makes as foolish a fumble as you did! Now Snape knows."

"Sn-snape!" Quirrell spat the name in disgust.

"He'll use this as his golden opportunity to watch us."

"H-he kno-knows what's in-in the co-corridor." Quirrell whispered. Emma pressed her ear harder against the door. The door creaked slightly.

"Of co-someone's at the door! Get them!" The voice shrieked.

Emma stumbled back from the door, her wrist burning with pain. She could hear Quirrell scrambling behind the door, and she bolted. She ran as fast as she could, darting around the corner as soon as she heard Quirrell slam the door open. Her legs flew up the staircase until she reached the door, desperate, she began to jiggle the handle but found it unlocked. Without a moment's hesitation she entered.

"Ow!" A voice whispered in the darkness. Emma jumped and was about to scream before a hand went over her mouth.

"Emma, it's us!" Harry took his hand from her mouth.

"What are you guys doing here?" She hissed through the darkness. "I thought you'd be fighting Draco by now!"

"He tricked us, he snitched and told Filch students would be out of bed!" Ron responded, to which Hermione piped up.

"I _told_ you that it was a dumb idea. And now look where we've ended up!"

As Ron and Hermione feuded and Neville sniffled, Harry looked at Emma.

"What happened to you?"

"I heard two people. Listen-wait, what room is this?"

It was at this point the five finally took in their surroundings. When Emma's eyes fell onto what was in the middle of the room, her blood ran cold.

"Bloody hell-"

"Is that-?"

"We need to go." Emma could barely speak. A giant, three-headed dog was standing before them, all three bearing their teeth at the students.

Harry struggled with the door as the middle-head began to snap at them. Within an instant all five of them were now running down the stairs, all of the night's adventures long forgotten. Hermione slammed the door behind them and they flew to where the staircase was, sprinting to where the Fat Lady Portrait was.

"Pig snout! Pig snout!" Ron was yelling at her.

"Where have you all been?" The Fat Lady questioned as she opened. All five practically leapt through the hole into the safety of the common room.

As white as a sheet, Neville made his way up to the boys' dorms, his legs like jelly underneath.

"Why-does-Hogwarts-have-a-bloody-three-headed- _dog?!_ " Ron said between breaths, his hands on his knees.

"It's protecting something!" Hermione retorted, her hair even more frizzled than usual.

"What makes you say that?"

"Did any of you look at what it was standing over?" Hermione asked. The other three shook their heads.

"It was standing on a trapdoor. It's guarding something. Now I'm going to bed. We could have been killed today-or worse, expelled." And with that she disappeared up the stairs leading to the girls' rooms.

Ron stared after her. "It's like we dragged her with us! I swear, she needs to get her priorities straight. 'Or worse, expelled.' I'd rather be expelled than dead!"

Harry wasn't listening. "What was it guarding?"

Harry and Ron bid Emma a good night as they went up to their own beds. As Emma entered her room, she saw Hermione was facing the opposite direction of her bed. _Good._ She dressed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, but her mind was racing.

Her thoughts kept going back to what she heard. Who belonged to that unknown voice Quirrell was talking to in that room? Whoever it was, they knew what was underneath that trapdoor. And so did Snape.


	10. The Troll in the Bathroom

**Author's Note: I'm becoming very slow at updating, and for that I'm truly sorry! But I lost my train for the story until I rewatched A Very Potter Musical by Starkid! Watching it gave me a new idea for the story, so I'm going to try and incorporate that. It also gave me a soft spot for Quirrell/Voldemort. Thank you for reading! -Nox :)**

Emma was the first to notice the scowl on Draco Malfoy's face when Harry and Ron walked in the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Thought he got you two expelled," Emma snickered as they sat down.

"Good, I hope that git realizes who he's messing with now. What I'd do to go up to his ferret face right now and punch his dumb face right now." Ron mumbled.

"If only Mrs. Norris had found Draco instead of us." Harry wished aloud.

Emma scoffed. "Yeah, like Draco ever actually left his dormitory to begin with."

The rest of breakfast was spent discussing what could possibly be in the Gringotts vault.

"S' gof's be somfeink ingpong?" Ron choked through a mouthful of toast.

"What?" Harry asked, eyeing his best friend with amusement.

Ron swallowed with a large gulp and repeated himself. "I said it's got to be something important."

"It has to be. I mean why else would someone try breaking into the most heavily guarded Wizarding bank of all time?" Harry added.

Emma took a moment to think of the possibilities. She bit her lip in concentration, one eyebrow raising. _A wand? Maybe a dark magic book?_ But none of these options made sense to her.

"Well I think-" Ron trailed off as his face drew up into a scowl. His blue eyes were fixated on the Great Hall Entrance, and Harry and Emma followed his gaze.

Hermione was walking in, her bushy hair recognizable from a mile away. In the Hermione fashion, she was clutching two books close to her chest, and her bag was bursting at the seam with others. She scurried between tables and sat a few seats away from the three. She made a scene of not looking at them.

"What's her problem?" Harry whispered across the table.

Ron shrugged.

"She stopped talking to us, so let's enjoy it."

When the morning mail arrived, Emma was disappointed to see no letter from Remus. She tapped her fingers nervously on the oak table.

"What's the matter?" Her gaze flickered up to Harry's bright green eyes.

"Remus didn't send a letter."

"So?" Ron piped up.

"I'm just a little nervous for him. He hasn't been alone since I was a baby." Emma sighed.

Remus would always get noticeably weak and sick during a specific part of the month. His already graying hair would gray more, his skin would become pallid, and he'd walk with lethargic movements. She hoped it wasn't one of those weeks for him.

Harry and Ron finished their breakfast and scrambled off the bench.

"We better get a head start to Potions. I don't need that dog snapping at my heels too." Ron muttered as the trio walked out the entrance.

Emma tried her best to fly under Snape's radar this Potions class. She kept her eyes on her feet as she took her seat next to Neville.

"I nearly forgot we had him today," Neville sighed mournfully. "I was halfway to Quirrell's room when I realized."

Emma patted Neville sympathetically on the back. "Here's to hoping he gets ill."

She heard a huff and cocked her head to see Hermione take her seat next to Emma. She didn't even cast a second glance to Emma as she took out her books. _Someone's feeling all high and mighty._

When Snape entered the room, Emma's blood ran cold. His cold black eyes flickered over her briefly before focusing his attention on Neville.

"Longbottom, I hope that you will be able to find it in yourself to follow the instructions for today. I even simplified the rules just for you." He drawled as the chubby boy's cheeks flushed.

The class dragged on as Snape spat out instructions from his desk. Emma could barely figure out what potion they were making, let alone how to make it. She once has to go up to Snape's desk because Neville had run out of dried roots.

"Sir," she hesitated. Snape did not look up. "Excuse me, Professor."

Snape's lidded eyes flickered up lazily. "Can I help you, Potter?"

"Yes," she fiddled with her fingers. "I need more dried roots."

"More?" He folded his hands across his desk and leaned in, a cruel smile forming at his lips. "Potter, I gave out exactly the right amount for the potion. Have you already failed at this simple potion?"

She could tell Draco was listening from the way his talking suddenly stopped. Her palms began to sweat as she looked everywhere but Snape.

"I know sir, it's just that Ne-I need more."

"Well now Potter, I'm afraid that's not a good enough reason for me to give you dried roots. If you can't think of a better reason, stop taking up space in front of my desk and go sit down."

Emma ended up cutting her roots in half and sharing them with Neville.

The rest of their lessons went by in a blur, and soon Harry was jogging down to the Quidditch Pitch with his new Nimbus Two Thousand. It was just a quarter to seven, so Ron and Emma decided to stay in the Gryffindor Common Room. They were briefly joined by Fred and George, who were boasting about a new invention they created that could shock a person from 50 feet away.

"If mum gets another letter about you two…" Ron began, eying the electric wand in George's hand nervously.

"We get another howler and continue on our merry way," Fred finished, winking before disappearing with his brother outside of the Portrait Hole.

"What homework do we have?" Emma began to rummage through her messenger bag for a quill and parchment.

Ron shrugged. "Beats me. Oi, Seamus!" The devilish boy turned from where he was playing Wizard Chess with Dean Thomas.

"What is it, Weasley?"

"Did we have any homework?"

"Uh, yeah? I mean, I think we had a Potions essay and then Quirrell gave us something to write about. But it's not like Quirrell will take points off if you don't do it."

That was true. Quirrell never took off points for late homework, but then again, Quirrell barely seemed to know what was going on in his classroom half of the time. The one thing Emma could say about Quirrell was that he graded fairly.

"You'd think, with it being the beginning of the school year, Snape would go easy on the workload." Ron grumbled, taking out his Potions book but not opening it. "On to a more important topic." His voice dropped. "That trapdoor."

The mentioning of Quirrell caused Emma to smack her forehead. "That reminds me! I forgot to tell you guys something."

Ron leaned in, bright blue eyes eager.

"When we were heading to the duel I heard two voices coming from Quirrell's room. He sounded really scared. They were talking about the third corridor and how Snape knows."

"I knew it!" Ron hissed, tossing his books aside. "I knew Snape had something to do with this!"

"I feel bad for Quirrell. I mean, he isn't exactly a the bravest." Emma had gone up to hand in her homework earlier and she could have sworn Quirrell jumped out of his skin.

"We have to tell Harry when he gets back. Finally, a valid reason to get Snape sacked!"

September and October began to race by as Harry continued with Quidditch practice and Emma struggled to keep up with all her work. Harry wasn't surprised to hear Snape had something to do with the trapdoor. Emma began spending more time frequenting Quirrell's office, doing various tasks for him while looking out for Snape. The two would work in an uncomfortable silence, Emma failing to make conversation with the jumpy professor.

"So sir, what House were you sorted into?" She asked timidly as she went through stacks of paper.

"R-Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw, that's nice. I wouldn't have minded Ravenclaw, a lot of smart people in there." She immediately realized the stupidity of her sentence. She thought she heard a snicker from Quirrell, but it was too husky to be the man's voice.

"Well, Ravenclaw i-is known for its sm-smarts." Quirrell replied tartly, a ghost of smile lingering on his face.

And then the room would be silent once more, the only noise being the shuffling of parchment and the scratching of his quill.

She found it quite useful to be Quirrell's unofficial assistant, however. One day, after she finished whatever task he had asked her to do, Quirrell offered to help her with her homework. The offer shocked Emma, seeing he was always quick to rid himself of her. "Are you _sure_ Dumbledore wanted you to help me?" He had asked.

"Yes." She lied smoothly, and Quirrell never did go to Dumbledore to ask for himself.

"Emma?" Quirrell said her name without stuttering.

"Yes Professor?" She was packing her bag at this point and looked up at him, but he was sitting as his desk, writing away.

"Do yo-you need help with P-Potions, by any chance?"

"Excuse me?"

"I-I heard Snape dis-discussing your pap-papers, and he didn't seem im-impressed." Emma remained silent.

"I figured this is how I could re-repay you, seeing as you ha-have helped me immensely."

"That would be great! Thank you sir!" She scrambled across the room to sit in front of Quirrell, pulling out her Potions book.

"Er, sir?"

"Yes, Emma?"

"Can you also help me with my other homework?" Quirrell eyed her warily.

"For what classes?"

The two of them spent the rest of the evening completely rewriting all of her essays.

The first two months at Hogwarts flew by for Emma. She formed her tight-knit group of friends with Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean. From time to time she would spot Cedric Diggory and the two would study together in the library, Cedric cheerfully telling her all about Hufflepuff Quidditch practice while she told him about her first-year classes.

On the morning of Halloween, Emma awoke to the delicious smell of freshly baked pumpkin. The excitement for Halloween filled the air, and Professor Flitwick added onto this when he told them he believed them ready to make objects fly. As the Gryffindors filed into class, Professor Flitwick began breaking them into pairs. Harry and Seamus were partners (Emma caught Harry's look of relief as Neville was paired with Lavender Brown), whereas Dean Thomas and Emma were partners. Ron and Hermione were both in a sour mood when Flitwick paired them together. Emma couldn't tell who was angrier.

"Swish and flick, remember swish and flick! I am sure none of you want to have a buffalo sitting on your chest like Wizard Baruffio, who had 's' and not 'f'! Remember that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick squeaked from his stack of books.

It was much harder than Emma thought it was going to be. She and Dean flicked their wrists and swished their wands, but the feather remained stationary on the table. She could hear Seamus muttering under his breath in front of them, and before she knew it his feather was on fire and Harry was using his hat to put it out.

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Ron shouted, his arm moving in a weird motion. He too was having no success with raising the feather.

"No, no, no!" Hermione snapped at him, her bushy hair seeming to bush out more. "You're saying it wrong Ron!"

"No I'm not!" Ron retorted, his face turning as red as his hair.

"It's Wing- _gar_ -dium Levi- _o_ -sa, the 'gar' needs to be nice and long."

"I'd like to see you do it then, seeing as you think of yourself as being so smart." Ron growled.

"Fine," Hermione huffed, and fixated her wand on the feather. " _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Emma's mouth dropped as the feather began to float above their heads.

"Excellent work Miss Granger! See everybody, see how it floats?"

Ron was boiling mad by the time class ended.

"I can't _stand_ her!" Ron complained loudly after class. "She's a walking nightmare, that's what she is. Nobody wants to be around _that._ "

Harry let out a 'oof' as someone pushed past him. He noticed in surprise it was Hermione, tears in her eyes.

"Hey Ron," He began, "I think she might have overheard you."

Ron watched as Hermione's silhouette disappeared, and he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Who cares," he said in a tense voice, "it's not my fault she's got no friends."

Hermione missed their next class, which happened to be Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was a shame too; Quirrell chose Emma to perform 'Expelliarmus', a spell she cast (semi) perfectly.

Hermione wasn't at lunch either. Parvati told Emma on the way to the Great Hall that Hermione was bawling in the Girls Bathroom. When she recited this to Harry and Ron, Ron's face turned a bright pink. However, the Great Hall was decorated so beautifully and Hagrid's pumpkins were fantastic that the three quickly forgot about Hermione.

Emma was just helping herself to a second helping of roast beef when Professor Quirrell came whirling into the Great Hall, his turban lopsided and his face pale from terror. He stopped in front of Dumbledore, panting heavily. "Troll-in the dungeon-thought you should know."

He fell to the floor and fainted.

The Hall broke out into chaos, students shouting and people pushing into each other. It quickly fell silent when Dumbledore stood up.

"Silence! Prefects, lead your students to your dorm. Teachers, come with me."

Percy began to wrangle them up and headed towards the great staircase. Emma was just trailing behind Harry when he abruptly stopped.

"Hermione!"

"What about her?" Ron asked as the three suddenly stopped walking.

"Hermione's in the girls bathroom! She doesn't know about the troll!"

Emma's blood ran cold. "So what are you saying? That we should just go waltzing around looking for her?"

"She's in _danger_ Emma, we can't just leave her."

Emma cast a nervous glance at Ron and then at the already fading backs of the Gryffindors.

"I….I guess." She finally muttered.

The three managed to cut across and follow behind the group of Hufflepuffs, ducking low as to not be seen. Once they reached a deserted corridor they broke out running. They quickly turned the corner, however, when they heard footsteps.

"Snape?" Ron hissed as the man glided past them, glancing both ways before heading up the stairs.

"He's going to the third corridor!" Emma shouted-whispered, but before she could say more, a foul smell hit her nose and Ron grabbed the hem of her robe.

"H-H-Harry!" Ron whispered, his face paling.

"What?" Harry snapped, but quickly fell silent. Standing a few feet away stood a giant troll, even larger than Hagrid. Emma covered her mouth with her hand to keep from gagging. The troll was probably 12 feet with lumpy, dull gray skin and long, wrinkled ears. It dumbly searched from room to room, wiggling its ears, looking for something. It dragged a club behind it, and was sniffing in a room before its ears quivered. Slowly, it slouched down and stomped into the room.

"Quickly, close the door!" Harry yelled, and he sprinted across the hall with Ron, the two slamming the door shut and locking it.

The three let out a sigh of relief. "Yes!" Ron shouted, while Harry laughed in victory.

They were heading back down the passage, scanning each corridor. "Okay, so where's the girls bath-" Ron never finished his sentence as a high pitched scream came from the chamber the troll was locked in.

"Oh no…"

" _Hermione_!"

Emma struggled with the key to turn in, fumbling with it. Harry pushed open the door, and there was the troll, smashing its club into the sinks as it went. Hermione Granger cowered on the other side of the bathroom, face as pale as snow.

"Do something to distract it!" Harry shouted over his shoulder as he began to run to Hermione.

"Hey, pea-brain!" Ron shouted, picking up a piece of broken sink and chucking it at the troll's head. It turned to face Ron and Emma.

"Over here!" Emma danced around it, ushering to Hermione to hurry up. The troll had just loomed over Ron when Harry leapt on its back and stuck his wand up its nose. The troll let out a confused grunt before swinging its club madly back and forth, trying to get Harry off. Hermione reached Emma and was clutching onto her hand, terrified.

"What do we do?" Emma panicked, frozen in place. It turns out, Emma Potter was not good under pressure.

But Ron Weasley was. " _Wingardium Leviosa!"_ He shouted, and the troll's club floated into the air, hovering over the troll's head. It fell with a _thump,_ and the troll collapsed unconscious.

"You did it Ron!" Harry exclaimed as he (with great disgust) retrieved his wand from the troll's nostril. The four looked at each other awkwardly.

"Th-thank you." Hermione whispered, for once looking meek.

"It's my fault, really." Ron replied, his hand flying to the back of his neck. They had just barely reached the door when Quirrell, Snape, and McGonagall entered.

"What do we have here?" McGonagall pushed past them, her mouth gaping open as she saw the knocked out troll. "Who did this?"

"Ron did. He saved us from the troll." Harry spoke up.

"What on _Earth_ were you four thinking of?" McGonagall snapped at them as Snape bent over the troll to examine it. "You could have been killed! Why didn't you go to your dormitories?"

"Professor, we-we were just-" Emma fumbled for words.

"They were looking for me, Professor," Hermione's soft voice startled her. "I-I thought I could take on the troll so I-I went looking for it."

Ron's mouth fell open as Hermione lied to a teacher while Emma and Harry looked dumbly at each other. Snape eyed Emma and Harry coldly, an eyebrow raised.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall looked astonished, before quickly composing herself. "Well Miss Granger, it was a very dangerous thing you did. You could have been hurt or killed. I will need to take five points from Gryffindor."

Hermione hung her head. Professor McGonagall turned to Emma, Ron, and Harry.

"Not all first-years are able to defeat a mountain troll. You were lucky this wasn't full-sized. In recognition for your bravery, each of you will receive 5 points for Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore will need to hear about this."

Quirrell and McGonagall left the bathroom, while Snape lingered. "You seem to have an affinity for trouble." And with that he too swept out of the bathroom.

Back at the Common Room, students buzzed with the story of the troll.

"15 points to Gryffindor!" Harry said in amazement.

"10 points, Hermione got 5 taken away." Emma quickly added.

"And right so. It was her fault anyway." Ron grumbled, but he too felt excited. Many of their classmates eagerly listened to his dramatized rendition of the story.

The three were just starting on Transfigurations when Hermione sat down next to them. She glanced over Ron's shoulder before sighing.

"You're doing it wrong," she grabbed his paper, "here, let me." And from that point on, Hermione became a friend.


	11. Author's Note 1

**Author's Note: I have been SOOOOOOOOOOO inactive on this story it's actually insane! I just read all of the chapters I've posted and really want to get back into this story! My issue is I had started the eleventh chapter but when transferring my documents to my new laptop I accidentally sent Chapter 8 twice to myself and labelled the duplicate as Chapter 11. I'm starting it tonight and should hopefully have it up this week! But to everyone who has taken time to read/favorite/review, THANK YOU! I really appreciate it! P.S. As I was reading my old chapters and picked up on tiny errors (in one chapter I somehow mixed up "two" and "too" which I cringed hard over) :) -Nox**


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